Angry landlords sent this to MN governor about eviction moratoriu

[Pavel Sakurets]

To Tim Waltz, MN governor

POSTED ON JULY 15, 2020 BY REALESTATEADMIN

7/13/20 you extended eviction moratorium. Are you out of your mind?

Perhaps you are thinking that this extension would help tenants that lost their jobs to stay longer in the properties?

According to this https://mn.gov/deed/data/current-econ-highlights/state-national-employment.jsp MN May’s unemployment rate was only 9.9% and you are protecting entire 100% of the tenants?

Are you out of your mind?

In case you didn’t know this but roughly 80% of properties that are being rented have mortgages against them and landlords need to make mortgage payments, insurance payments, property tax payments, pay for water and some electric and gas bills. Where do you think these landlords will get the money to make these payments since March? On several properties I have not received rent myself since March and it will extend through August. I’m not receiving rent for 6 months while tenants that have the money take advantage of it because we can’t file for eviction for non payment of rent. I do understand that restaurants got hurt because they were closed and they are not able to make rent payments. But I have tenants who receive pension and Social Security benefits and their financial situation hasn’t changed at all and they take advantage of your moratorium, because they would rather not pay rent of $12,000 for 6 months, get evicted and find another place to rent.

If you wanted to protect tenants, why not pay the landlords from the State funds and create payment arrangements with the tenants? NO- you don’t want to do this! You want landlords pay for everything!

This is what would happen because of your SHORT thinking:

1. Landlords will not be able to make mortgage payments and property tax payments.
2. Properties will get foreclosed on and tenants would get evicted.
3. Landlords would loose equity in their rental units and will not able to invest in real estate for a long time and will not create jobs for people that rehab real estate to make it rent ready.

So who are you really helping by extending the eviction moratorium?

[James Hamling]

@Pavel Sakurets I think you said EXACTLY what we are all feeling, thinking and experiencing, minus many 4 letter words! 

As a side note for any who would argue this, in MN the statistical majority were earning at a rate pre-covid that the net result of getting laid off/ fired; unemployment insurance and the bonus resulted in an averaged 134% income rate. The moratorium has only protected those doing the wrong things for the wrong reasons. A LEGITIMATE order would have had the simple addition of a person having to provide financial evidence of their inability to pay, of decline in income benefits, and then the amount of rent placed into forbearance status would be of % equaling decline in income due to covid impact. All VERY easy to document via UI documentation. But no, just blanket ruling that landlords need to operate on hope, faith and luck.

I have been just waiting for any kind of rent strike to happen so I can shout my protest charge of "PROPERTY TAX STRIKE". The class discrimination is getting intolerable.