The San Francisco Board of Supervisors last week unanimously approved an extension of an ordinance protecting commercial tenants who can’t pay rent because of the coronavirus pandemic from eviction.

The ordinance will now last through at least March. That aligns with the expiration of a state executive order allowing cities and counties to pause these types of evictions.

The board’s ordinance applies to businesses that fall into one of four tiers: Tier 1 is businesses with 10 or fewer employees, Tier 2 is businesses that have 11 to 15 employees, Tier 3 businesses have 26 to 50 employees and Tier 4 covers businesses with more than 50 employees.

Businesses in tiers 1, 2 and 3 have between 12 and 24 months to repay back rent after the moratorium’s effective period ends. Tier 4 businesses have to pay the rent they owe once the moratorium’s effective period is over.

Tier 1 businesses are also given the option to get out of their leases without a penalty and with 30 days' written notice in the event that the business and its landlord can't reach a "mutually satisfactory" plan for repayment.

The ordinance will apply to tenants that had worldwide gross receipts in 2019 of $25M or less. Office tenants are no longer covered under the ordinance, with the exception of nonprofits.

The extended protections come as many San Francisco businesses have once again faced shutdowns and capacity restrictions due to the coronavirus.

San Francisco bar owner Ben Bleiman told the San Francisco Business Times that the extended ordinance was “the biggest thing to happen” to small businesses since the Paycheck Protection Program loans that went out earlier this year, throwing life preservers to many businesses.