Our Government is INSANE!

[Alex Zipeto]

Long story short.... currently evicting a tenant. Mostly for non-payment, but also is a headache of a tenant so it's best she leaves.

I have been trying to work with her to avoid eviction and come current on the rent. Finally, she gave me the phone number of her social worker. I call her up and explain the situation. I explain to her that we just got an eviction judgment in our favor today, so she has 10 days before she would be removed. For context to the story she is behind almost two months, now 3 going into December, about $1400 and now $2100 this month.  

We discuss the ERAP program, and I tell her I am more than willing to work something out, but I found out she lied about applying for the program earlier(luckily I called to confirm and they told me she never applied) and now she just applied to the program for real. The problem is, I know, sadly from experience, that the ERAP will pay the past due rent and sometimes 3 months in advance as well, but the issue is that it takes 2-3+ MONTHS. I am not in the position to wait around while she doesn't pay anything, I tell the social worker. She said that she totally understands and I need to do what I need to do. She said that she should be able to push her application through very fast and ask if I am willing to work with her. I tell her I would be depending on how long the payment will take to get to me, so we agree to talk again in a day or two when she knows more. 

We talk a little bit more, about her job, and such and she tells me that if I do evict her and we can't work anything out, being my tenant is saying that she will have nowhere to go if she is evicted, that they are going to provide her a hotel and give her money for food, etc. 

HOW DOES THIS MAKE SENSE. A hotel in the area is probably about $120 per night. So they are going to house her for how long? and give her how much other money? Even just a week in the hotel plus other financial help to her is literally the same amount of money as it would take to bring her current in her current apartment! How does it take 2-3 months to get the money to the landlord, but the same amount of money can be spent on a hotel. I'm not sure exactly what is going to happen, but it's really just so backwards to me!