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Unfair madness! Landlords getting hosed.
Some Perspective... 0.15%
That's the percent of American people who have Covid-19 at the time of this writing. NOT even 1% of the total population.
Suppose the disease were to quadruple before this is over, that would only be 0.6%. Still not even 1%
I am not saying the Covid-19 pandemic is not serious. It is serious! But bear with me, I'm going somewhere here.
Percent of tenants with eviction protection 100%
Specifically in California landlords have been totally neutered.
THIS IS NOT RIGHT, THIS IS NOT FAIR!
Private citizens should not be compelled by law to provide free housing at their own detriment. As a landlord for 20+ years this is the most backwards and un-American situation I have ever seen. What good are constitutional protections, checks and balances if they only serve us when convenient? We need our rights, and freedom most when times are difficult. Where is the ACLU?
Do I think a tenant who has suffered a hardship outside of their control should be thrown out into the street? No of course not. But, 99.9% of landlords will do everything in their power to work with a tenant ALREADY, if for no other reason because they don't want to pay for turnover and vacancy.
I think some responsible laws could be put in place that prohibit abusive landlords from unfair evictions and also require landlords to work with tenants, but the current situation is totally 1 sided and unfair!
Consider, if a tenant loses their job they have options. They can apply for aid, they can look for an online job. They could take a temp position at a grocery store if they like. However, if a landlord has a tenant who can't (or wont') pay rent they can ask for rent and hope for cooperation but can do nothing beyond that to improve their situation.
This absurd! Is anyone thinking this through? How can this possibly not end badly? Allow me to list some problems.
- If a tenant hears they "don't have to pay rent", many will simply push it as far as they can regardless of their actual ability to pay or not pay. Why not cease the moment? Wouldn't you?
- If a landlord does put a 3 days or quit notice and the tenant doesn't comply. Normal law states that the landlord can not collect anymore rent AFTER the 3 days are up, or the 3 day pay or quit notice is invalid. Does this mean landlords should just allow the tenant to live free till September or until (heaven only knows) when they are able to evict? Does letting a tenant free load till September seem like a good idea?
- Most landlords would agree that tenants who get behind really land themselves in a circle of debt they can't climb out of anyway. Thinking a repayment plan with landlords can work is basically fiction. AKA nonsense.
- How long till landlords start getting stretched too thin and start taking matters into their own hands? Anything is possible, Violence, fake insurance claims etc? That is a scary outcome that I don't want to even think about. (Please nobody do this)
- How long till landlords get fed up and say screw it and just let the bank have the property back?
- How long till word gets out about how landlords are being treated and many future (would be landlords) say, no thank you? How many current landlords will just get out of the game. (never want to take that risk again)
TL:DR; This is a disaster and I don't even know what to do anymore.
PS: I do have abusive tenants who are purposely leveraging the situation and not paying simply because they don't have to.
Please don't move out of Cali and try to change other state's laws to match Cali laws
It's a **** show and it will only get worse. This "pandemic" has sown the seeds for future chaos much worse than what we've seen this year. Turning people/groups against each other is an effective tactic used throughout history and will exacerbate over the next 4 years. Tenants vs. landlords will continue far into the future.
@Ricardo P. i was referencing 8 months since the original post and we still have eviction moratoriums in place. Just wondering how people are feeling now regardless of politics, if any views are different.
@Colleen F. gotcha. Sorry for the confusion. I don’t see this getting any better anytime soon. I can see this last throughout 2021
@Colleen F. I don't see this getting better anytime soon, unfortunately. I think the next 4 years will be more/less a steady stoking of the fire between the "haves" and "have nots".
This year has, thankfully, forced me to buckle down and really study history to understand what's happening and it's been a very eye-opening experience. What's happening with black vs. white, wealthy vs. poor, tenants vs. landlords, men vs. women, etc. is something that has been going on for many years and is pervasive in all segments of the economy. 2020 was a catalyst to push these narratives to a whole other level.
I spent some time working at a university a few years back. There are programs on campus dedicated to "educating" students on how if you're anything other than a white, straight male and you find yourself at some sort of disadvantage in any way, you have every right to blame the system and others and rebel because they screwed you over and failed you.
I live near a district attorney whose policies apparently favor police unions. At the height of the protests, we had "BLM" protestors up and down the streets for many days advocating to get rid of her under the implication that she somehow supported police brutality against minorities (she's African American mind you). They left flyers in all mailboxes indicating they're a communist group looking to bring "justice" where they saw necessary. One of the leaders of the group? A college professor who teaches cultural studies at the local university. I remember having to take these "general education" courses when I was in undergrad and looking back, there was definitely a theme of victimization and blame.
I'm not saying that all BLM protestors are communists but what I am saying is that there is a lot more going on here than just a group of people being pissed off and this is happening globally. History is a great teacher as to what is transpiring as human nature hasn't changed after thousands of years, things just occur at a much faster rate now.
I hate to sound so negative but I'm taking a pessimistic perspective on all of this to help me prepare for worst-case scenarios. I think it will be a rough few years and one needs to be ready with reserves, a good support system, a quick mind, and an ability to see through all the BS.
The ban on evictions has unilaterally shifted billions of dollars in
economic burdens from one group of Americans, renters, to another, landlords. In many cases, these
landlords, are small business owners who have themselves suffered economic
losses as a result of the pandemic.
And now.... here in California landlords can't even think about evicting someone until at least July 2021. This is insanity!
Jason it isn’t going to be July 2021.
Specially with a democratic president and governor. Your lucky they are letting us eat and sleep at night.
Why on earth are people not up in arms? This entire thing has been so abusive and unfair to landlords. Utter nonsense!
From what I've seen, the courts are rigged and what is determined as constitutional isn't. I think there are lawsuits pending but I wouldn't be surprised if they are all lost even though they shouldn't be.
The moratorium will exist for over a year. No other businesses in other industries in this entire country is forced to stay open for a whole year and give service to customers for free. it is outrageous and should absolutely be unconstitutional.
Reminds me of the 3rd amendment.
the Third Amendment forbids the forcible housing of military personnel in a citizen’s home during peacetime and requires the process to be “prescribed by law” in times of war.