Question One: I have an apartment in the city of Garden Grove. I have two co-tenants who occupy the unit under one rental agreement. One of the tenants has failed to pay his share of the rent. Is it possible to evict that tenant only? Answer One: When you have co-tenants, their relationship is tantamount…
IN THE NEWS Landlord Sues for $100 Million Over Eviction Moratoriums! Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels As reported in the L.A. Times, one of the region’s largest apartment builders has sued the city of Los Angeles over its COVID-19 Eviction Moratorium saying that his companies have experienced “astronomical” financial losses and are legally entitled…
Should you sell your real estate investments before any changes to capital gains taxes or 1031 exchanges get made? That’s what many people are asking. But before you do anything, understand that there’s no telling what will come of President Biden’s tax proposals with a divided Congress, and you do have some interesting options in…
Hello everybody. In the context of lawsuits filed by tenants or resident managers against their landlords or employers, ask any landlord or employer, and even their attorneys, what their objective would be if they went to mediation while the lawsuit was pending. Almost all of them will tell you that the objective would be to…
NEWS RELEASES Nearly $47 Billion Available in Rental Assistance! The CDC Eviction Moratorium has been a tremendous financial and operational burden on the rental housing community. After months of advocacy, Congress finally allocated nearly $47 billion in rental assistance funds intended to help alleviate the financial burden of residents and rental housing providers. However, states…
After years of working on housing policy, I have found myself frequently referring to Virgil’s Aeneid, the story of the journey of Aeneas from Troy to Italy where he would be the founder of Rome. Like many epics – the Pentateuch, the Mahabharata, or Gilgamesh – the plot is riveting, but so are the images that become…
Below is a letter that was sent by Attorney Michael Millman to Anna Ortega of the Los Angeles Housing Department. Dear Anna: I hope that you, your family, staff and others are well, healthy and safe. We’ve known each other for years. The history is undisputed. The Rent Stabilization Ordinance, (RSO), provides that each year,…
Picture this. Your kids are tucked in bed, the dinner dishes are washed, and you just sat down to relax by watching your favorite TV show. Then the phone rings. As you jump up to answer it your heart pounds, because we all know as landlords when the phone rings during off hours it’s usually…
What is SB 721? SB 721 or The Balcony Inspection Bill, is a state law that requires an inspection of exterior elevated wood elements, such as decks and balconies, for multi-family properties with 3+ units or more. This Bill came about after the 2015 balcony failure in Berkeley, California, which killed six people. Failure was…
Question 1: As always, any updates on the state of the courts and unlawful detainers? Answer 1: As reported in last month’s article, California again updated its comprehensive state law directed at protecting tenants from eviction for non-payment of rent. Originally passed as AB 3088 in August 2020, updated by SB 91 in January, AB…