News – Renters Alliance

Solid Waste Services Rates are Rising and You May Pay

November 2, 2020November 13, 2020 Mark Elliot solid waste rates

On November 17th city council is poised to sharply increase the cost of solid waste services and alley maintenance. Every landlord pays these charges but some don’t pass the cost on to tenants. That may change: rising rates may prompt landlords to add a surcharge for refuse. As more tenants pay, we will notice just how steeply those costs will rise over the next five years. Let’s take a closer look at the proposed rate increase and see why this is a bad deal for multifamily customers.

ordinance 20-O-2818 null and void featured image

News

AB 3088 and Tenant Act Preemption: Which Rules Apply?

October 29, 2020October 29, 2020 Mark Elliot AB 3088, COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act of 2020, eviction moratorium, Tenant Act

The Tenant, Homeowner, and Small Landlord Relief and Stabilization Act of 2020 was signed by Governor Newsom at the end of August. Among other things, the legislation establishes a statewide framework for delaying rent due to COVID-19 financial hardship by preempting our local moratorium’s protections. There is also a new process for requesting forbearance and a new deadline for repaying back rent. What does it mean for Beverly Hills tenants? We try to make sense of it!

News

How Beverly Hills Tenants Lost Local COVID-19 Eviction Protections

October 5, 2020October 30, 2020 Mark Elliot AB 3088, COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act of 2020, eviction moratorium, Tenant Act

The ‘Tenant, Homeowner, and Small Landlord Relief and Stabilization Act of 2020’ (AB 3088) was enacted on August 31st to protect COVID–19 affected tenants from eviction. And just in the nick of time: just hours later the California courts would resume processing evictions for non-payment of rent! But lawmakers had another motive: to make COVID–19 evictions policies consist statewide by preempting local measures (like the Beverly Hills eviction moratorium) under certain circumstances. Now it looks like Beverly Hills unwittingly played into the hands of the state and ceded authority over our own COVID–19 protections.

News

Beverly Hills OKs $1M Rent Subsidy Program

September 16, 2020November 13, 2020 Mark Elliot Julian Gold, qualified tenant, rent subsidy, Robert

Beverly Hills tenants who have been affected by COVID–19 may find relief in a new city rent subsidy program. First proposed two years ago as a general subsidy for rent-burdened tenants, the refashioned program is scoped-down in reach but scaled-up in benefit. City council at its September 15th meeting agreed to throw as much as $1 million toward rent-relief program to provide $1,000 for at least three months to tenants affected by COVID–19 measures. While tenants seeking relief will likely have to wait a month to get it, we do know something about program particulars.

News

Watch Landlord Stephen Copen Unlawfully Evict His Tenant

September 8, 2020September 9, 2020 Mark Elliot 611 Gayley, Naghmeh Makhani, no-just-cause eviction, Stephen Copen

Landlord Stephen T. Copen was arrested and booked last Monday by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office after forcefully evicting a tenant from his 611 Gayley Avenue property. He was charged with misdemeanor vandalism for tossing his tenant’s property out of the unit and allegedly causing $2k in damage. Not only was this eviction illegal (there was no court order), but it occurred despite the City of LA’s eviction moratorium.

News

California Courts Again Are Open for Eviction Proceedings

August 17, 2020August 17, 2020 Mark Elliot COVID-19, eviction moratorium

Tenants who may have viewed the Superior Court’s pause on evictions as a backstop to our local eviction moratorium should know that eviction cases (and filings) will proceed as of September 1st. An amended rule by the court’s Judicial Council on August 13th imposes a sunset clause on its Emergency rule #1 promulgated in April to pause evictions. It may sound arcane but it augurs some pain for tenants who are at risk of displacement during the pandemic.

News

Heatwave is Here!

August 16, 2020 Mark Elliot air conditioning, heat advisory

Summer heat has arrived and the region is baking. Here in Beverly Hills we will see temps rise well into the 90s. That makes it especially uncomfortable to be in an old apartment without air conditioning. What can be done? We have a few suggestions.

News

Mandated Moratorium Rent Repayment Plans? A Solution in Search of a Problem!

May 4, 2020May 5, 2020 Mark Elliot eviction moratorium, Julian Gold, NMHC

On Tuesday afternoon’s city council meeting agenda is an item dryly titled, ‘Consideration of Modifications to the City’s Urgency Ordinance 20-O–2808.’ Proposed for council consideration is a major change to the terms of the city’s residential eviction moratorium: A tenant who asks for rent forbearance could have to sign on to a rent repayment plan in order to receive it. Here’s why that is a solution in search of a problem!

News

City Council Tweaks the COVID-19 Emergency Regulations

April 28, 2020April 29, 2020 Mark Elliot COVID-19, Julian Gold, urgency ordinance

Beverly Hills city council adopted a new urgency ordinance at the April 21st meeting making several changes to several emergency measures related to COVID–19. The amendments are part of council’s continuing refinement to the city’s response (to which we gave an A grade). Here we review those changes with specific focus on measures that affect tenants.

News

CARES Act: An Emergency Assist From Congress for Some Landlords

April 16, 2020April 27, 2020 Mark Elliot CARES Act, COVID-19, NAA

Congress in March passed H.R. 748, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) which extended unemployment benefits for laid-off workers and granted a ‘recovery rebate’ of $1,200 to qualified taxpayers. But there was A LOT more in that federal bag o’ treats, and many — but not all — multifamily housing owners in Beverly Hills may benefit. Let’s take a look at Washington’s largess and the multifamily housing industry’s opportunities for relief under the CARES Act of 2020.

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.

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