By now, many of us are growing tired of the burdens that COVID-19 has placed upon us. From job losses to restrictions on travel and other leisure activities, the coronavirus continues to shape our lives. Worse yet, it does not appear to be going anywhere soon. Many of our elected officials have suspended several tenant…
DetailsThese are indeed troubling times in our country. It began with the late March economic lockdown. It worsened in June with nightly protests in some of our largest cities over the tragic killing of a black man by police in Minneapolis. Sadly, the nightly protests have morphed into widespread riots, violence and looting by criminals,…
DetailsCome November, Proposition 13 faces its biggest political battle at the ballot box. It is instructive to ask whether that iconic tax affordability measure remains good tax policy for California. As the just-released property tax assessments rolls from several California counties reveal, Proposition 13 is working exceedingly well at keeping homeowners and small business owners…
DetailsFor entities who wish to bill for water, sewer, gas, or electricity, submetering may not be an option due to construction restrictions or, a limited budget. As such, owners, and operators are left searching for alternatives in the absence of submetering. The most equitable alternative is to deploy a Ratio Utility Billing System, commonly referred…
DetailsToday, estate tax exemptions probably protect 99+% of American families from the risk of transfer taxes (death taxes, gift taxes and generation skipping taxes). But, if there is a change of control after the 2020 election, or if control changes later, all of that will probably change dramatically for the worse for many thousands of…
DetailsQuestion One: We have a tenant whose parking space is blocking the trash bin. Since the 80’s, there hasn’t been a problem with trash being picked up until now. He intentionally parks his car so that trash doesn’t get picked up, in hopes of getting a different space. There are no available spaces at this…
DetailsAre California landlords losing control over their properties, rental income, and possibly future appreciation? It sure seems that way with the passage of new laws like statewide rent control and expanded tenant rights (AB 1482), mandatory Section 8 housing (SB 329), etc. What may have taken a lifetime to accumulate could now be threatened by…
DetailsDear Dan: Hello – so far, I have only had one out of three tenants have a problem paying rent. She is on a partial pay reduction, but she was unable to pay half of her April rent. I have a one and one half month security deposit. She is cooperative and her place is…
DetailsThere is a difference between a leader who fights for a cause for the betterment of their community and one who games the system in a hypocritical pursuit of their own agenda. In critical times such as these, we need more of the former and as few as possible of the latter. On May 1,…
DetailsAccess to the Premises Although Civil Code 1954 allows a landlord to access a unit for specified reasons, that access can be properly denied by a tenant during this pandemic. While a landlord can always enter the unit during an emergency, this is not the case for other reasons. For example, the tenant would be…
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