6 minute read
Legal Corner
Questions & Answers
By C. tyler greer, esq. the Duringer law group, plC
I heard the most recent extension to the Covid-19 tenant rent protections expires at the end of June. Does this mean that I can evict a tenant with a pending rental assistance application after June 30? Will there be a different 3-Day Notice?
Yes, and yes. In short, once the current protections expire there will not be any restrictions on evicting tenants for failure to pay rent, regardless of application status. In last month’s Legal Corner, I discussed AB 2179 in more detail and how it amended existing laws to extend certain tenant protections based on non-payment of rent, namely, tenants who have pending rental assistance applications could not be evicted until after June 30, 2022. AB 2179 also required a modified 3-day notice with new required language. For a more indepth review of AB 2179, check out May’s Legal Corner article. Moving forward, as the June 30 end date of AB 2179 approaches, housing providers must again be prepared for another change in the eviction process. Starting July 1, 2022, we are optimistic that the eviction process will return to the pre-pandemic normal. We are optimistic because each subsequent extension has moved closer to normalcy, albeit slower than we would have liked. In addition, over the last two months since AB 2179 was passed, we have been seeing an increase in the frequency that rental assistance applications being decided, which is a good sign. What this means for the industry as a whole, is that there will continue to be no further requirement to apply for rental assistance and there won’t be a waiting period for judgments for possession of property. Notwithstanding, we may see an end to the Covid-19 rental assistance program and see a transition to a different assistance model. But, ultimately, the eviction process will see a significant decrease in time from notice to possession. Make sure to stay up to date with the AAOC forms and be on the look out for a revised 3-day notice for July 1, 2022, forward.
I’ve been doing my own prospective resident screening for quite a while now. I think I’m thorough, but I’m just not sure anymore. I’ve been noticing more and more inconsistencies in the applications I review, and I even came across one who out and out lied about who she was! I’m concerned about all the stories I’ve heard about identity theft. I just can’t afford to make a mistake. What can I do to weed out these undesirables and minimize my chances of being fooled?
Identity theft has been a growing problem for several years. Landlords have increasingly been victimized by prospects posing as someone else, using false or fraudulent information. Often these thieves take advantage of a desperate landlord, eager to fill a vacancy, or a newbie landlord, who hasn’t gone through the school of hard knocks yet. Completed and signed applications by all adults are a must. Verify the information provided. Personally inspect some form of U.S. government issued photo identification. Take a photocopy of the ID and keep it secured with your file. Verify that the social security or the tax ID number provided by the prospect is his or her number and is valid. Run and thoroughly review an eviction and credit check through your apartment association. If practical, go outside to the prospect’s vehicle, and verify that the license number on the
car he or she just drove matches the license number written down on the rental application. Many ‘hands on’ owners will visit the prospect’s current residence unannounced, prior to approval to ensure the prospect lives there, and doesn’t just sleep on the couch. You’d be amazed at what you will learn by a simple visit. Inform all prospective applicants that you have a policy of taking a picture of all residents for the tenancy file. Follow through with this policy and take a picture of all proposed occupants and keep the picture in your tenancy records. When verifying employment and residency, ask for a description of the person, and compare the description with the person who filled out the application. Ask for original utility bills, electric, telephone, cell phone, cable, anything with the applicant’s name on it. All of these are tools that may be used in proper screening to avoid renting to an identity thief. Use these tools consistently, and apply them equally to all applicants, and your risk will be dramatically reduced
Last I heard, housing providers were not allowed to raise rent during the Covid-19 Pandemic. I know California is still in a “state of emergency”, but can I still raise rent? If so, is there a limit in the amount I am able to increase the rent?
Yes, you can still increase rent, but the maximum increase is limited to 10% during an active state of emergency. While there was a prohibition on increasing rent during the Covid-19 protected period from March 2020 through September 2021, there is no current prohibition. With that said, California has a price gouging law that limits the price of certain goods and services during the state of a declared emergency. Emergency declarations are issued by the Governor and are generally available on the Governor’s website at gov.ca.gov. For information about local declarations of emergency, please contact your local city or county emergency authority or sheriff’s office. Currently, there is still a statewide active emergency resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. As such, with all other covered goods and services, following a declaration of emergency, the statute generally prohibits landlords from increasing the price of rental housing by more than 10% of the previously charged or advertised price. For rental housing that was not rented or advertised for rent prior to a declaration of emergency, the price cannot exceed 160% of the fair market value of the rental housing as established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. For rental housing advertised or rented on a daily basis, such as an AirBnB or VRBO listing, the daily price may not be increased by more than 10% following a declaration of emergency. For rental housing advertised or rented on a daily basis prior to a declaration of emergency but offered on a full-time or monthly basis following a declaration of emergency, the price may not exceed 160% of the fair market value of the rental housing as established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. A landlord may not justify an otherwise unlawful price increase by providing additional services such as gardening, cleaning, or utilities, or because they are now offering a shorter lease term. Similarly, a landlord may not charge more than the allowable price because an insurance company offered to pay a higher price. Finally, the statute also makes it a separate misdemeanor for a landlord to evict a tenant and then rerent the property at a rate that the landlord would have been prohibited from charging the evicted tenant under the price gouging statute.
This article is presented in a general nature to address typical landlord tenant legal issues. Specific inquiries regarding a particular situation should be addressed to your attorney. C. Tyler Greer is an attorney at The Duringer Law Group, PLC, one of the largest and most experienced landlord tenant law firms in the country. The firm has successfully handled over 300,000 landlord tenant matters throughout California and has collected over $300,000,000 in debt since 1988. The firm may be reached at 714.279.1100 or 800.829.6994. Please visit www.DuringerLaw.com for more information.
