Our goal in the CREM Group Journal is to bring you new ways to look at probate and trust properties in the greater context of the real estate market. In this post, we want to let you know how the end of the eviction moratorium may affect the real estate market in California.
The worst of the COVID pandemic is over. Thank goodness. However, as people are just beginning to start back to work, they face paying their rent again as the eviction moratorium enacted and extended to June 30, 2021, is ending. Governor Gavin Newsom indicated in a May 10, 2021 press conference that he would use “the California $75.7 billion state tax surplus and the $26 billion federal relief funds to help tenants pay back rents and catch up on utility bills. It all sounds great.
Landlords want to breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe they can collect on their back rents. However, even with the planned relief, tenants still breathe panic. Where will they live if they can’t pay rent and are evicted? Why would this happen if there’s money coming from the state? According to CalMatters.org, renters wonder if “ a) the relief will get to all households that need it soon enough and b) the funds are sufficient to pay back owed rent.”
A Big Problem
What’s the size of the problem? A Lake County Record-Bee June 2021 article estimates 700,000 households are behind on their rent in California. The piece continues, “…Research by the Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative (BARHII) shows that many will cut back on medicine and food or lose their homes entirely. It is impossible to repair the damage done by the coronavirus when we are leaving so many behind.” The threat of homelessness casts a pall over the entire state, and the Record-Bee recommends extending the eviction moratorium with some better rules in place for accessing relief money. Too many exceptions and loopholes are apparently still in the way.
This website lists the two main problems in completing the relief application as 1) having struggles with technology, but also 2) contending with the language differences between landlords and tenants. In a related post, the Sacramento Bee reported on May 7, 2021, that the California DMV “… is preparing to stop offering written driver’s license tests in 25 languages, reducing the available test languages to seven, according to a directive issued last week. After the change, the test would be offered only in English, Spanish, Armenian, Chinese, Hindi, Punjabi, and Vietnamese.” Twenty-five languages in California means the communication is a huge issue to tackle for tenants seeking access to the rent-relief program.
Evictions in the Face of Rising Rents
The June 21, 2021, USA Today reports that even as the eviction moratorium is ending, the COVID-19 discounts are vanishing. The article continues, “Nationwide, the U.S. median rent reached the highest level in two years in May 2021, according to a report by Realtor.com. Monthly rents increased by 5.5% year-over-year from May 2020.” Even as some tenants question how they can pay their rent, other folks are finding work, making more money, hoping to be back in an office or place of business again. There for, demand is increasing rents and home prices.
Buying Any Kind of Home
Whether you’re looking for a home in the suburbs or a home nearer downtown, the prices will be higher. Probate homes will be more expensive than before as an alternative to non-probate homes. The CREM group deals in both residential and commercial trust, probate, and conservatorship properties. We know that our clients and prospects would like to see the eviction moratorium go away so they can pay their mortgages, insurance, utility, and repair costs. They do not want increased homelessness to ensue. Nor do they want to have people unable to get proper medical care because they are trying to meet their rent.
Perhaps there should be some steps to ensure that people who are technologically challenged or facing a language barrier can have a few extra days to apply for money from the state’s surplus. The few additional days and any extension cases should be carefully monitored, with plans put in place to help folks in those two categories. Otherwise, the problem keeps getting kicked down the road with no solutions at hand. Homelessness is not the answer.
* *. * As long-time real estate agents for all kinds of properties in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, we have made sure we support our clients, so they know the legal aspects of selling their probate, trust, and conservatorship homes in California. We also try to ensure that our readers are aware of many trends in real estate.
As always, contact us by email here if you have any questions about real estate, probate real estate, conservatorship, or trust real estate properties, especially in Los Angeles and Orange Counties in California. Or directly:
Mark Cianciulli, Esq. [email protected]
DISCLAIMER: This content is meant purely for educational purposes. It contains only general information about real estate and legal matters. It is NOT legal advice and should not be treated as such. We recommend consulting a legal or tax professional before acting on any material, opinion, or point of view described herein.
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