Will California Eviction Moratorium Be Extended Past July 29th – Ventura Lawyer Doug Michie Says No
2020 will be remembered as one of the toughest years for landlords in California, thankfully Ventura based lawyer Doug Michie is doing something to ease the pain felt by landlords by filing a complaint which will stop the Governor’s eviction order from being extended past 7/29.
This is good news for California landlords because it means that they can finally end the deadlock of not being able to pursue evictions against their tenants that may have been taking advantage of the eviction moratorium and living rent free for months.
About The Complaint
Filed in the 3rd district court of California, Michie’s complaint quotes the U.S. Constitution as the basis for why the State of California cannot continue extending the eviction moratorium:
“No State shall … pass any … law impairing the Obligation of Contracts” (Article 1, Section10, US Constitution) …” Nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation” and…Violations of Substantive Due Process (5th Amendment US Constitution).
His primary motivation for filing the complaint was on behalf of his wife, a landlord in the Bay Area who owns several rental properties that are being occupied by renters who haven’t paid rent in months thanks to the eviction moratorium.
Although the eviction moratorium served a purpose during the early days of Coronavirus, the State of California cannot continue extending it because doing so will continue to hurt landlords economically and it would also open a door for landlords to file a class action lawsuit against the California for recovery of compensable losses in the California court system.
What Happens Next?
The end of the California eviction moratorium doesn’t quite end eviction moratoriums across the state because many counties have eviction bans in place which could be extended through the summer especially if some tenants rights groups have their say.
One thing is for certain, with the current state of California’s economy, landlords and tenants both are experiencing tough times financially after COVID-19.
Some estimates show that landlords in California have lost about $1 billion dollars in revenue since the state of COVID-19 especially when we consider that 25 percent of tenants across the state haven’t paid their rent in five months.
Contact RPM Central Valley
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