Legal Analysts
Attorney Andrew Lieb joined CBS to discuss the latest for Landlords. Evictions aren't straightforward and simple. There are many delay strategies available to tenants and landlord's need to invest in legal representation that knows how to overcome these strategies.
In an effort to improve neighborhood preservation and community renewal, New York will expand their current definition of preservation and renewal to include the administration of landlord training classes. The amended bill covers all municipalities and aims to provide assistance primarily to underserved neighborhoods. Landlords are not required to participate in these classes so they will not be penalized if they choose not to do so.
The amended bill, A05393, which is awaiting Gov. Hochul's signature, will administer landlord training classes in the definitions of neighborhood preservation activities and community renewal activities. These classes will cover information ranging from building codes to evictions. Preservation and community renewal activities include, but are not limited to, repairs, renovations, and restorations. Ultimately, the goal of the Bill is to preserve underserved neighborhoods and to protect tenants from being unnecessarily bothered and illegally evicted by landlords.
Landlords are having new laws thrown at them on a regular basis in light of the COVID pandemic. And if you're not tuned in, updates on regulations and new laws can be easily missed or misunderstood. These classes will afford landlords the opportunity to know what's going on in their industry. This Bill could also help landlords reduce legal fees by getting it right the first time around.
Details have not yet been released regarding where the classes will take place, in what form - virtual or in-person, how often, and how New York will monitor whether or not a landlord has actually completed the training classes. If all goes according to plan, this Bill will be helpful to both landlords and tenants alike. The classes in theory sound like they will be an extremely useful tool for landlords. But, if a landlord is not required to attend the classes, will they actually go to them?
On August 27, 2021, the US Supreme Court opened the floodgates for evictions throughout the United States in the case of Alabama Association of Realtors v. DHHS.
Landlords, have you called your attorney yet to start the eviction process?
Investors, are you ready for the housing market to swing because of a flood of inventory?
Tenants, have you started to make moving arrangements and tried to settle your arrears for less money?
Wow, can you feel that tsunami coming?
Make no mistake, this is the first domino to fall in our housing market's shift into a buyer's market on fundamentals. Are you ready?
For the legal context of what transpired, the CDC had issued a moratorium on evictions in counties with substantial or high levels of COVID-19, which we explained here. That moratorium was thrown-out by the District Court for the District of Columbia, but that Court knew that the issue would get to the Supreme Court so they stayed (a/k/a, paused) the effectiveness of their Order overturning the moratorium until the Supreme Court could weigh-in, which we explained here. Now, the Supreme Court has weighed-in and the eviction moratorium is ineffective, unlawful, and unenforceable.
To be clear, the Supreme Court did not weigh-in on the policy of an eviction moratorium. They didn't rule as to whether it is a good idea, good policy, or needed for our country. Instead, the Supreme Court ruled "that the statute on which the CDC relies does not grant it the authority it claims." In plain language, the eviction moratorium was thrown-out because the CDC's basis for imposing the moratorium does not afford it that power.
You see, Executive Branch agencies, like the CDC, can't do whatever they want. They need power before they act, which comes from Congress. Without that power, they can't do anything. They can't issue regulations, rules, or directives. This power, called an enabling statute, was missing from the eviction moratorium, according to the Supreme Court, which explained that the power relied upon by the CDC was meant "to implement measures like fumigation and pest extermination," not eviction moratoriums. According to the Supreme Court, "our system does not permit agencies to act unlawfully even in pursuit of desirable ends."
Knowing that, you should be wondering if Congress will act and impose its own eviction moratorium?
For landlords, investors, and tenants that is a really important question given that the Supreme Court acknowledged, in its decision, that "[a]t least 80% of the country, including between 6 and 17 million tenants at risk of eviction, [fell] within the moratorium."
However, we doubt that Congress will issue another moratorium because it can't get anything done with its division in the Senate. Further, the Supreme Court reminded Congress, in its decision, that a federal "moratorium intrudes into an area that is the particular domain of state law: the landlord-tenant relationship."
As a result, evictions are about to flood the court systems. Are you ready for the eviction tsunami?
On August 3, 2021, CDC issued its latest eviction moratorium to address the rise of the Delta variant.
Here is what landlords and tenants need to know about the moratorium:
