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East Bay Landlords Sue Oakland, Alameda County over eviction bans

One plaintiff says stress rooted in fear of foreclosure landed him in hospital

(iStock)
(iStock)

A group of East Bay landlords is calling foul on eviction moratoriums, saying Covid-19 is winding down while they’re stressing over potential foreclosure.

Five landlords and Housing Providers of America, a nonprofit created in January to fight eviction bans, sued the city of Oakland and Alameda County, the East Bay Times reported. They say small landlords are suffering from the financial repercussions of the moratoriums, even as the pandemic seems to be winding down.

“Two years have passed, we have vaccines, Covid appears to be turning endemic, yet mom and pop property owners have endured two years of not receiving rental payments,” said Joe Arellano, a spokesman for the landlords. “And now as a result, they’re on the brink of foreclosure, bankruptcy and so forth.”

A ban on evictions caused by the pandemic is set to expire at the end of the month when the counties are to lift states of emergency. Oakland and Alameda County don’t require tenants to prove they’re financially unstable because of the pandemic. Evictions are allowed only if the landlord plans to take the unit off the market or the tenant poses a threat to other occupants. While the local governments have programs available to help landlords and tenants, requests exceed funding available.

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Oakland landlord John Williams, one of the plaintiffs, says his tenant hasn’t paid $1,500 in monthly rent since the eviction ban started. He’s concerned about foreclosure — so much so that the stress landed him in the hospital in October, according to the complaint.

Many renters say they still need the moratorium or risk losing their homes.

“Without the eviction moratorium, thousands of families like mine will end up on the streets,” Oakland renter Maricela Ortega, who belongs to the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, wrote in an email. “We cannot lose these protections.”

[East Bay Times] — Gabriel Poblete

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