COVID-19 – Renters Alliance

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.

Commentary

Renters Alliance Position on Mandatory Rent Repayment Plans: A Bad Idea!

May 5, 2020May 5, 2020 Mark Elliot COVID-19, eviction moratorium

City council will discuss modifying the urgency ordinance to possibly implement something like a mandatory rent-repayment plan for tenants who seek forbearance of rent due to COVID-19 emergency measures. No other major California city imposes the requirement as a condition for assistance because it means committing the tenant to an additional monthly financial obligation (on top of the regular rent) at a time when economic uncertainty is at its highest. Here are the points I made to city council.

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.

Commentary

Property Maintenance in the Era of COVID: Cleanliness Matters!

April 28, 2020July 31, 2020 Mark Elliot 212 S Reeves, AAGLA, CAA, Carole Hoffman, COVID-19, Essential management, Inc., maintenance

Residential rental dwellings must be fit for human habitation and free from ‘dilapidations,’ says California Civil Code section 1941. In part that means “all areas under control of the landlord, kept in every part clean, sanitary, and free from all accumulations of debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents, and vermin.” Not a high bar! But not all landlords live up to that standard and during the COVID-19 pandemic we may see some landlords shirk their responsibility.

Commentary

Tenant Advocates Spring Into Action with a Call for Rent Relief

April 17, 2020April 26, 2020 Mark Elliot CARES Act, COVID-19, Mark Elliot, rent relief, rent strike

Renters Alliance sees the COVID-19 relief promised to taxpayers and businesses as wanting. Taxpayers get a one-time payment of $1,200 per adult and $500 per child and some who need it won’t even get it. But businesses (including apartment landlords) already get plenty of tax breaks and now they’ll get more while small landlords lose out. If tenants and landlords can agree on one thing it is that providing relief to tenants will provide relief to landlords too.

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.

Explainer

Moratorium on No-Fault Eviction: What It Means

April 10, 2020April 11, 2020 Mark Elliot COVID-19, eviction moratorium, no-fault-termination

The revised emergency measures related to COVID–19 adopted by Beverly Hills is notable for the moratorium on eviction for non-payment of rent and the moratorium on rent increases. But as important is a moratorium on no-fault eviction. State law allows for terminating a tenancy for reasons where the tenant is not at fault and localities are preempted from stepping in with more restrictive regulation. But that’s gone out the window during this emergency. Here is what you need to know about no-fault eviction.

Commentary

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

March 26, 2020September 17, 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.

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.