[California] Renters in U.S. cannot be evicted through the end of the year due to coronavirus, CDC order states

[seashells]

@sam805 Become homeless now or wait 6 months and become homeless anyway with a mountain of debt to go with it

 

[kentheframer]

@asker Quick note: This order does NOT mean you will not be financially responsible for missed rent and penalties, only that you cannot be evicted.

 

[blessednow]

@asker It says you cant be evicted for not making rent payments, but what about other reasons? We are paying our rent every month but landlord wants us to move out bc they are selling the property. Its month to month lease, would the moratorium still apply to us? We are under the income limit. I dont think we could afford to live anywhere else with the price of housing around here : / only reason we have it affordable now is bc weve been renting here 20+ years

 

[prophetelijah]

@blessednow Check your state's renter protections. If you refuse to leave after being given notice, I imagine the process for eviction is no different from non-payment. The problem is you have to certify you'd be homeless or have to double up if you were to be evicted. If you're currently paying rent that will be a difficult argument to make

 

[blessednow]

@prophetelijah Well our rent now is only 500 for a 3 bedroom house (weve got 4 adults, one dog and three cats) and there is nothing comparable nearby. My fil has rented for over 20 years and is on disability so that's how we have a good price. But even a 1 bedroom around here is 900+ and we cant afford that -_-

 

[et1phone2home]

@blessednow How long have you been living there? Month to month is still an implied rental agreement. Depending on your city and length of occupancy, you could be due a sizable relocation fee. WeHo for example is extremely tenant friendly and I've see people receive 5 figure relocation fees to move out for landlord to sell and/or owner occupy. I would check the rent stabilization board in your area and get the facts before agreeing to anything.

Edit: I just reread your post. 20 years - you should definitely be entitled to something. Sellers can often negotiate with buyers to pay the relo fee with your compliance into the sale.

 

[blessednow]

@et1phone2home Relocation fee? Never heard of that. I'm in TN I dont think there is anything like that for renters but I'll check. Idk if there is anything like that here

 

[et1phone2home]

@blessednow I'm sorry, for some reason I thought you were in CA. You should check into it though. Look at the rent stabilization laws for your city and check out procedure for a landlord that wants to sell a property after 20 years of tenancy. There is often a number you can call where they can advise you on you specific circumstances.

 

[minatokomi]

@asker some details

 

[mwisbey]

@asker So I assume this order supersedes the even 25% the state needs? States usually are able to keep their own laws but does the fed overstep this?

 

[resjudicata]

@asker I don't know about other cities... but in my county, it takes over 4 months to go through the eviction process. That's assuming a tenant doesn't vigorously(or creatively) fight it. This was before the pandemic. Now it takes even longer because the courts and sheriff's office are only processing less than half of cases(compared to same period in 2019) due to coronavirus concerns. From what my friend who works for a property management company with 620 apartments, it's more like 6 months at this point.(and only if the tenant doesn't try to work out an extended payment plan)

So... this new CDC order is only good for 3 months... not going to make a huge difference come January. Let's not even ignore the huge economic disaster that's on the horizon. The landlords, property management companies, bank or other lenders are going to be crushed if millions of tenants are either evicted or ditching their rented homes voluntarily.

 

[prays2]

@asker What happens if the owners of the place you rent gets foreclosed because they cant pay their end?

 

[resjudicata]

@asker Have fun if you rent a room from someone and refuse to pay them rent and then have to sleep in a room right next to them. What if your lease is month to month and/or you rent a private room (as millions of people do)? Don't let this order fool you into thinking you can make your landlord into an enemy; that's a very dangerous enemy to have my friend.

 

[hu7231]

@resjudicata the order is meant to be directed torwards someone like me who is the sole provider of my apartment and whose have paying rent ON TIME every month for 2 years straight and then lost my job directly because of covid. im pretty sure i'd be protected in court if i stopped paying rent . am i willing to find out ? naw im good lol

 

[francis271179]

@resjudicata I have people on both sides of this issue. While I feel for anyone who doesn't have an income and can't pay rent, there are those out there (who my friend is dealing with) who refuse to pay rent because they have an excuse now. The tenants in my friends house have refused to pay rent. Instead, they used the money to save up for a house... but now they are having their brother (who was never on the lease) squat in the house rent free, plus they are running their business out of the house too. My friend's lawyers say there's nothing anyone can do.

 

[resjudicata]

@francis271179 People are going to be more hesitant to rent out rooms in the future, or start requiring HIGH deposits with several references. It's a short term gain for some people, but it's at the cost of the landlord getting screwed over and being more scrutinizing in the future.

 

[dtray]

@resjudicata There are laws about retaliation against tenants from their landlords. Doing anything to someone or making their living situation uninhabitable is illegal.

 

[resjudicata]

@dtray There are laws, and then there's reality. Murder is illegal too.

 

[dtray]

@resjudicata Landlords aren’t going to go around murdering people. There’s specific information you have to give them about not being able to pay rent. Landlords are in the same boat as well. Stop trying to spread fear and misinformation. Landlords are getting protection to from their banks.

You’re completely deflecting from your first statement that people renting rooms have no rights as tenants and would be subject to retaliation from their landlords. Now all a sudden people need to be worried about getting murdered. Give me a break.

 

[resjudicata]

@dtray I am not saying people will be murdered by landlords. I am saying the law and what actually happens in real life are totally different things. People can say retaliation is illegal, but many things are illegal and happen any way, including murder, tax evasion, shoplifting, etc. Saying it's illegal for your landlord to do something to you doesn't magically create a forcefield around you and protect you from harassment, slander, not being able to use them as a reference, owing them thousands of dollars once the law ends, not being able to rent from someone else moving forward because you can't list that landlord as a reference or even put that address down because you are on bad terms with them.
It's a dangerous game to be on bad terms with a landlord, or even a boss. If you want to rent in the future, you need to have references and list previous addresses.
Yes, you could find some way to get around that, but good luck finding another person renting a room out in their house who isn't going to ask for references and the previous landlord's number to verify that you're a decent tenant.
The law cannot protect you from being blacklisted and unable to rent moving forward. Or that landlord dragging their feet about paying the bills or fixing something that needs repair. Heck, your landlord could blast polka music all night or buy a dog that you're allergic to and let it slobber all over the house just to piss you off. Or they move in a bunch of their large male relatives and passively intimidate you.