Mark Elliot – Page 2 – Renters Alliance

Tenants Suffer as City Stays Mum on the Revised Moratorium Ordinance

Five days have elapsed since Beverly Hills enacted a revised moratorium on eviction for non-payment of rent. Yet we have not heard a word about it from the city: no update to the rent stabilization website, no email announcing it, and no guidance for tenants who cannot pay the rent due to COVID-19. Landlords will take advantage of that information vacuum and tenant uncertainty and anxiety will result. Here’s one example courtesy of landlord Elm Enterprises, LLC.

News

City Council Extends and Enhances Emergency Tenant Protections

April 2, 2020April 3, 2020 Mark Elliot eviction moratorium

After another marathon eight-hour emergency meeting, Beverly Hills city council unanimously agreed to improve our moratorium on eviction for non-payment of rent due to COVID–19 by extending the repayment period from six months to one year AND adding a new protection against Ellis Act eviction. City council also agreed to freeze rent increases, too, so no tenant will see a rent hike while the local emergency is in place.

News

Need Rent Forbearance? Beverly Hills May Make it Untenable

March 30, 2020April 3, 2020 Mark Elliot eviction moratorium

City of Beverly Hills this month declared a state of emergency and adopted an eviction moratorium that would put the break on residential evictions for non-payment of rent (and even prevent no-fault evictions when otherwise allowed by law). This Tuesday at 2:30 pm city council will consider revising that moratorium to make it much more burdensome for tenants to qualify for forbearance.

News

Governor Newsom Orders a Statewide Eviction Moratorium

March 29, 2020 Mark Elliot eviction moratorium, Gavin Newsom

Governor Gavin Newsom has issued an executive order imposing a statewide moratorium on residential and commercial evictions for non-payment of rent. Effective March 27th, and extending through May 31st, the order compliments an earlier order that only allowed localities to prohibit evictions for non-payment. Beverly Hills was among the earliest in the Southland to do so. What does the statewide moratorium say, and how does our local moratorium compare?

City Council at RSO commission formation 2019-3-5

News

Rent Stabilization Commission Appointments

March 27, 2020April 10, 2020 Mark Elliot Rent Stabilization Commission

One year ago Beverly Hills city council formally created a new Rent Stabilization Commission to discuss changes to the rent stabilization ordinance and to decide certain disputes between tenants and landlords. Standing up the new commission signaled city council support for the rent stabilization program, but more immediately it heralded the next step in our ongoing three-year process to revise the ordinance. We anticipated commission appointments soon but then the city erroneously sent out letters announcing it. Here is a look at who will be appointed next Tuesday.

Commentary

Beverly Hills Earns an ‘A’ Grade in This Coronavirus Crisis

March 26, 2020April 16, 2020 Mark Elliot Coronavirus, COVID-19, John Mirisch, Keith Sterling, Lili Bosse, Pam Mottice Muller

Coronavirus has challenged local governments in a way that no public health emergency has before. We see a cascade of executive orders and urgency ordinances that have shuttered businesses, prohibited gatherings and tried to cushion the impact of an economic shutdown in response to this insidious threat. The most surprising: a sweeping embrace of the eviction moratorium. Beverly Hills Mayor John Mirisch has ensured that our city was among the earliest in the Southland to step up with one. He deserves an ‘A’ grade in a crisis.

Explainer

Beverly Hills Eviction Moratorium: What You Need to Know

March 21, 2020April 2, 2020 Mark Elliot COVID-19, eviction moratorium

City of Beverly Hills proclaimed a local emergency in response to COVID–19 and literally the first order of business was the protection of tenants. Agenda item #2 read: Enacting a moratorium preventing landlords from evicting any tenant who is unable to pay rent as a result of losing income caused by COVID–19 for the non-payment of rent. The moratorium passed unanimously as part of the city’s emergency order. Here’s what you need to know.

Commentary

Demystifying Local Emergency Parking Restrictions

March 21, 2020March 21, 2020 Mark Elliot Coronavirus, parking

City council discussed suspending certain street parking regulations during the local state of emergency. And the city has a very helpful coronavirus webpage where there is a brief blurb about parking guidance posted. But that guidance is too general to be of much help when we are talking about violations that come with penalties among the highest in the Southland. I dug into the city’s website to nail down the details but didn’t realize it would be such a time-consuming challenge.

Explainer

Parking During Our State of Emergency: What You Need to Know

March 20, 2020March 27, 2020 Mark Elliot local state of emergency

At the emergency meeting on Monday March 16th city council agreed that certain parking regulations should be suspended during the local coronavirus state of emergency. With few people working or traveling, and with family members home, the demand for street parking may increase. Yet the order that closed businesses and prohibits evictions for non-payment includes no specifics about new parking arrangements. We did some digging. Here’s what you need to know.

News

Beverly Hills Eviction Moratorium Protects Tenants Affected by Coronavirus

March 16, 2020March 22, 2020 Mark Elliot Coronavirus, COVID-19

Beverly Hills city council has unanimously agreed to impose a moratorium on residential rental evictions for non-payment of rent if coronavirus can be demonstrated to be a contributing factor. The process for adjudicating whether a factor is or is not material has yet to be established but for now the prohibition is effective immediately. Symbolically it puts Beverly Hills in the company of cities that put the welfare of tenants first. We thank Mayor John Mirisch for making sure that this key protection was considered by city council during its unprecedented emergency council meeting today.

Explainer

Forbearance is Not a Standard Rental Agreement Clause

March 15, 2020 Mark Elliot Forbearance

Rental agreements are legally enforceable contracts that specify the terms of tenancy. Among the most clear of those terms is the timely payment of rent. Every rental agreement identifies the rent amount and the due date. But nowhere in the agreement will there be a forbearance clause: the provision that would keep the landlord from moving swiftly to retake possession of the premises in the event of nonpayment. What to do when a tenant is caught short when the first of the month comes around?