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The city of Los Angeles is facing a lawsuit filed by landlords alleging the COVID-19 rent freeze was implemented unfairly.
According to the lead plaintiff, the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, some tenants who could pay part or even all of their rent are taking advantage of the rent freeze, leaving landlords with little recourse.
The plaintiff says that the ordinance meant to protect those facing economic hardship due to job losses brought on by COVID-19 restrictions go too far. The landlords claim that they are unable to enforce rent contracts with tenants and fear they may be unable to do so in the foreseeable future.
“Plaintiff’s members are sympathetic to tenants who have actually suffered hardship due to the Pandemic,” states the coronavirus lawsuit. “Plaintiff’s members have every incentive to work with those tenants who do not have the financial means to pay all or some portion of their rent…however, the Ordinances actively undermine any such attempts at cooperation and allow tenants who actually have the ability to pay all or some of their rent to ignore their contractual obligations for the foreseeable future.”
The LA housing lawsuit alleges that tenants are not required to demonstrate any financial hardship to benefit from the eviction ban ordinance enacted in the area. Nor are landlords provided any notice that their tenant is not going to pay their rent.
The rental ordinance prohibit landlords from evicting tenants who are not able to pay rent due to job losses or other restrictions related to the coronavirus, reports a local CBS affiliate, CBSN Los Angeles. The ordinance was issued in March, notes CBS, and give tenants a year to pay back rent payments missed due to the pandemic.
In addition, the eviction ban reportedly gives tenants the right to sue landlords if they violate the ordinance. The ban was also updated in May, prohibiting any rent increases through the coronavirus pandemic.
The Apartment Association, which represents 150,000 rental units in the area, claims that landlords are being hit with unrecoverable expenses that are adding up as the moratorium on paying rent drags on.
“Under the eviction moratorium, tenants may continue to occupy their respective premises at no charge, utilizing the water, power, trash, sewage, and other fees that the landlords must continue to pay without reimbursement,” notes the coronavirus lawsuit.
The plaintiffs point out that, for tenants who move while the rent freeze is in effect, there is no mechanism to seek payment for missed rent. The coronavirus lawsuit also points out that tenants will unlikely be able to pay back their skipped rent payments after coronavirus restrictions are lifted.
In addition to not being able to collect payments, the lawsuit states that landlords are not able to charge late fees or interest on missed rent payments.
Further, some tenants may have faced economic hardship due to coronavirus job restrictions, but have received unemployment plus additional payments under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic (CARES) Act. However, landlords are reportedly not receiving similar benefits.
“One of the more notable ‘loopholes’ of the CARES Act is the ‘windfall’ received by many employees, where individuals actually receive higher wages through available unemployment benefits in comparison to their wages pre-pandemic,” states the coronavirus lawsuit.
The plaintiffs say the ordinance holding evictions violates their constitutional rights, both under the U.S. Constitution and California’s Constitution. The lawsuit is seeking a court order rescinding the eviction related ordinance.
A representative of the Apartment Association told NBC 4 reporters that the ordinance was “not well thought out.” The ban “will very likely expose the city to hundreds of millions of dollars in liability (if not more) to landlords and property owners,” continued Earle Vaughan, the board’s president. “While public agencies understandably feel compelled to ‘do something to help’ in times of crisis, the city’s urgent actions are not well thought out and are causing much more damage than good.”
Are you a landlord or tenant affected by a rent freeze during the coronavirus outbreak? Tell us your experience in the comments section below!
The lead plaintiffs are represented by Douglas J. Dennington, John A. Ramirez, Peter J. Howell and Kelsey E. Quist of Rutan & Tucker LLP.
The Coronavirus Outbreak Rent Freeze Lawsuit is Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles v. City of Los Angeles, et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-05193, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
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8 thoughts onLA Landlords File Lawsuit Opposing Coronavirus Rent Freeze
I am a small landlord. I have a big single family house plus an Adu in Venice beach and because was bigger than what I needed and the mortgage was so high I rented on August 2020. For a year contract. The tenant paid 11 months an stop paying from august 2021. We both applied California rent relief program on September 2021 and after 5 months our application still pending. And no one can tell us how long will take to get paid by the program and we can not touch the tenant. We have limited resources and our loan company won’t accept the forbearance due to the fact that the unit is not owner occupied. We already renting another place
This is so frustrating to us.
We as a landlord don’t get any benefit and all resources goes to tenant without a deadline so we can assess our resources.
I’m a small landlord in Los Angeles, single mother of 3rd grader creamed by covid. I applied to all the programs offered only to be told I don’t fit the criteria. It would have seemed very simple to look at tax returns of reported rents and fund that amount instead of asking tenant to comply if they would or could even be found. After I was done with my unpaid school teacher position June 2020. I threw my child into camp and scrambled to try to cure defaults with my savings. Now all that is gone and I’m in default again because I have no reserves left and I looking at bk, foreclosure and homelessness for myself and child. Mortgage companies don’t want to modify. Gov’t didn’t help. I’ve been a landlord since 1999 so just imagine the taxes I’ve paid over that time. Plus I’ve been working my whole life. Started stuffing boards in my parents garage for Tektronix when I was 8 years old in Beaverton Oregon. I was at Bridlemile school. Then babysitting and berry picking till I was old enough to legally work. I would like to join a lawsuit if anyone is reading this.
I am in Northern California. I have renters that drive new vehicles and just purchased a new one last month but have not paid rent in over a year. I have legal bill piling up and the California Courts are backed up. Why would the Government seize our homes to allow non-payers to stay at our expense. I did not agree to any of these terms. Renters will never have the funds to repay and expecting landlords to accept the 80/20 payback is also a joke. 1) the renter needs to qualify and there are many who will not because they are cheaters 2) why would or should I give up 20% of a years worth of rent due to no fault of my own. If the loss was 20% of one months rent to allow them time to vacate then that would have been doable but year+ unpaid rent. Even with a small claims judgment landlords will not be able to recover their losses. A streamline court needs to be put in place to not make this two years of unpaid rent due to slow court system.
I want to be included in a class action lawsuit. I want my cheater renters to be held accountable. Where are my rights???
I think there should be a nation wide class action lawsuit for landlords. Maybe the government could pay the past due rent then they can try to collect from the tenants. We all know its difficult to collect. They quit their jobs as soon as a garnishment starts.
1. Shouldn’t government take responsibility to provide social safety net to the groups in need, meaning tenants here? Isn’t the enforcement of eviction prevention plan a transfer of government’s responsibility to landlord’s shoulder? In this regard, what’s the point for landlord paying property tax? For landlords who suffer rent loss during the pandemic, can they stop paying property tax in return given government’s failure of performance?
2.How can landlord join this class action to suing county of Los Angeles?
3.The tenant we suffered from not only delayed her rents, but also damaged and poisoned the property, resulting in not only tens of thousands of dollars to repair the property, but also brought significant safety and health danger to the neighbors, including newborn babies, kids and aged seniors. Unfortunately, the court just neglected this emergency case and refused to issue an eviction order.
The state has single handedly destroyed everything I’ve worked my entire life for and it keeps getting worse. Some of my utilities are threatening to turn off services now due to non-payment. I can’t pay when I’m collecting zero rent.
I’m also now facing late payments reporting due to lack of rental income so my credit scores are rapidly deteriorating through no fault of my own.
I’m very concerned that I will never see a dime of the rent I am due. At best I’ll get a judgement against a deadbeat tenant who’s probably earning more In unemployment than if they were working and here I am sweating bullets losing my life.
How do I join this Class Action Lawsuit?
The lead plaintiffs are represented by Douglas J. Dennington, John A. Ramirez, Peter J. Howell and Kelsey E. Quist of Rutan & Tucker LLP.
So I did not pay rent this mouth are last mouth because I am only working one job now so I am not doing so good what do I do And the manager went up on the rent I pay 1700 a mouth I in Hawthorne