LA City & County Eviction Moratorium to End, Declaration of Local Emergency on Homelessness Approved
Credit: @joelmott
Los Angeles County has voted to extend its eviction moratorium to Jan. 31, matching the city’s recent vote to end its moratorium on that date. In addition, Los Angeles City Council voted to approve Mayor Karen Bass’ proposed State of Emergency Declaration on Homelessness. This blog is a quick guide to what’s going on and what might change.
In recognition of the current homelessness crisis in Los Angeles County and the potential for those numbers to increase as eviction moratoriums end, Los Angeles City Council voted to approve Bass’ proposal. This emergency approval would allow certain actions without having to go through the typical approval process, paving the way for expedited construction and other contracts needed. Mayor Bass’ plans, to be detailed in the coming weeks, would be to subsidize housing in area motels and other similarly situated rental properties. The Mayor’s Office has already had preliminary discussions with relevant property owners. The emergency status is currently scheduled to last six months and city council members will have to sign off on the emergency declaration every month. I am certainly interested to see how this will unfold. I only hope that we can begin to build a more consistent infrastructure to get folks off the streets, the help they need, and hopefully end their cycle of housing instability with some determination and commitment in the right places.
The question remains: will there be a big wave of eviction filings come February? Yes, that’s probably inevitable, unfortunately. It’s not a good situation for landlords or tenants. Many landlords who have not been able to collect back rent through rental assistance programs, or other means may be forced to try and recoup some of their losses, as there has been little to no financial help or forbearance for landlords affected by their tenants’ financial situation. A large portion of landlords affected is not large corporations, but rather family-owned buildings. If court becomes the only avenue of resolution, that’s what landlords will be left with. Whether the tenant is still living in the unit will determine whether the landlord will need to initiate a single action for collecting back rent, or if an unlawful detainer (eviction) case will also be necessary.
There are alternative resolutions for parties who recognize that court will be a stressful process and a long wait for resolution in most cases. Many of those reaching out to me for assistance surrounding non-payment of rent have over a year to wait before their first court hearing where there has been a case filed already. For tenants and landlords alike, the looming issue and extremely long wait will not be helpful for anyone. In some circumstances, either the landlord or tenant may not be willing to try to negotiate prior to a court proceeding—that is unfortunate but is what it is.
I would encourage anyone, landlord or tenant, who is willing to try to negotiate an agreement that would avoid the need for the court to try mediation if they have been unsuccessful in negotiating on their own. It helps keep everyone focused on what’s important, creates a clear and effective agreement for the parties to abide by, and saves a ton of time and costs—even where the parties choose to be represented by an attorney for mediation.
Some can be reluctant to try it for landlords—since there may be a pretty clear liability for the tenant at times, and for tenants—because they are unsure what to do and are financially stuck or for other reasons. However, none of that prevents the inevitable, and judgments are hard to collect without added time and expense if the number is not a realistic one for the tenant to come up with in a lump sum. Whenever the tenant is willing to cooperate and negotiate, it may even be worth the landlord making some concessions. Getting cash flow as soon as possible is important for many property owners to maintain ownership. We should want willing tenants to be able to access public assistance if available or come up with a feasible plan to repay back rent in a way that can help private property owners keep their investments. Eventually, we will all hopefully be able to walk away from this messy time to much brighter things!