Crossing our fingers on a lawsuit challenging the eviction ban in Alameda County
We've been closely following a judicial challenge to Alameda County's draconian eviction moratorium still in place even as the rest of our society is open for business.
The lawsuit was filed by the California Apartment Association in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of several aggrieved property owners who claimed the blanket ban on evictions is "invalid, illegal, and unenforceable."
Thursday, September 29 was a monumental date because Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler heard a motion for summary judgment in which the Association’s attorneys argued that the continuing moratorium amounts to a physical taking of rental housing owners' property in violation of the U.S Constitution, and operates as an unconstitutional impairment of contracts.
Moreover, to the extent it prevents landlords from removing units from the rental market, they argued that it violates the Ellis Act, a 1980s-era state law that enshrines the rights of landlords to go out of the rental business.
The September 29 hearing was convened to hear what we call "facial claims," or baseline legal questions surrounding the case. This is in contrast with the "as applied" claims that would air out the facts of how each plaintiff landlord was affected.
Not surprisingly, there was no immediate ruling by Judge Beeler at the hearing. Instead, the judge committed to taking the motions into consideration and issuing a written decision in the following weeks.
Counsel on both sides of the litigation has made spirited arguments for and against ending the eviction moratorium. Let's hope that our community of Alameda County landlords prevails and sanity is finally restored to how we manage landlord-tenant relationships.
Voting has never been more consequential
On July 19, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to leave lifting the moratorium on evictions on the back burner, refusing to tamper with it for the time being.
After the tragic death of Supervisor Wilma Chan on November 3, 2021, a handful of candidates vied for the seat. Former Alameda City Councilmember Lena Tam is the most likely candidate to cast the necessary vote to put an end to moratoria and get landlords’ cash flowing again.
As you might have heard, Los Angeles agreed to phase out its eviction ban when, on September 28, its City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on COVID-19 Recovery and Neighborhood Investment voted 4-0 to sunset protections for tenants unable to pay rent due to COVID-19’s financial impact.
This sensible change in public policy has earned Alameda County the dubious title of the only locale in the state that is adamant about continuing the now-unnecessary COVID-related tenant protections. While we hope that the lawsuit challenging Alameda County's archaic rules is successful, this outcome is by no means guaranteed.
Perseverance is the order of the day. Barring a threat to public health and safety, our options are limited in how we can transition tenants out of rental units, but Bornstein Law is happy to dialogue with you on a buyout agreement that accomplishes the goal of a vacancy.