Sure. But what really bothers me is how the govt is so cavalier with my property. I am fortunate that I screen very well. My tenants are great and I would work with them if they got in a jam.
But not all tenants are good tenants. Some will hear that due to covid, the courts are closed. As a result, they will not pay. They will tell you right upfront, the courts are closed and you cant evict me so im not paying. Then there is nothing a landlord can legally do to force that person out of his property. It has to go through the court when they open back up.
The govt has an office for unemployment. I would be all for the govt saying, bring us a copy of your current lease along with utility bills and we will pay them to get you through this crisis. But when the govt pays many people large sums of money, many of those people forget what it is for and blow it. And the courts are closed so the landlord takes the hit.
Not really. I can force squatters out of my property if I catch them there. I can also have the police give them a trespassing warning where if they are caught on my property again, they can be jailed. I cant force someone out of my property if they have a lease, nor can I call the police unless I catch them vandalizing it.
It is all a ploy to get votes. The banks are not really hurt if people dont pay. The govt gives the banks the money to loan. So the govt could easily forgive the banks. Where the rent hurts is that most of the homes for rent is by people with just a few homes…40% one or two. They get hurt when rent isnt paid.
Sorry to hear your going through that. For the most part this wont affect me. My tenants are working and some are military so I know I will get my rent.
If you want to work with your tenants during this crisis, that is commendable. I expect you have good tenants, and if that was the case, I would work with them to. But it should be your choice and not the govts. How would you feel if your tenant had an alcohol problem, and could pay you the rent, but chose not to? What if he just told you the courts are closed and I saw that I dont have to pay rent and you cant evict me, so I’m not paying. Would you feel that was his moral choice and be happy about it?
Good on you for working with your tenants. Some landlords are asking their tenants pay a smaller percentage of the rent so the landlord has some cash flow. Tough times, sometimes you have to make tough decisions.
Noble words. But when the rent stops coming in, and your mortgage is still due, and your taxes are still due … You’ve decided that the buck stops with you. And it will sink you.
I’m with the majority of sentiments in this thread. It can’t end with an eviction moratorium. That gives relief to the renter, but makes the renter’s problems the burden of the landlord. Since the government is making this decision, it should be compensating the landlord for the lost rent.
Perhaps that’s still in the works, but I haven’t seen even hints or rumors of that.
