Jun 15


https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/investigations/reports/2020/06/15/evictions-milwaukee-and-wisconsin-jump-over-40/3177897001/

My belief is we will find total eviction counts for the first six months of 2020 vs the first six months of 2019 actually decreased this year.

But maybe the alarmist view will help get more funding for tenants to pay their rent, which in turns helps everyone.

Jun 12

Milwaukee BizTimes

“We’re urging all owners to work with their tenants who are experiencing legitimate difficulties and are taking steps to apply for whatever help is available to them,” Tim Ballering, AASEW treasurer and managing member of Milwaukee-based Affordable Rentals Associates LLC, said in an interview. “We’re also urging owners that, prior to committing to a court eviction, they explore other opportunities to find another resolution.”

Jun 11

Housing Choice Voucher Wait List. A random lottery will be held from the applicants with 3000 families to be added to the waitlist.

Why will only 3,000 applicants be selected in the lottery to be on the wait list?

The wait list will be limited to 3,000 applicants so that they will have a reasonable expectation that they may receive a Housing Choice Voucher within a 2- to 3-year time period.

This shows how great the need is for expanded rent assistance.

Jun 11

The WI Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection has issued an FAQ on late fee and eviction moratorium.

​Emergency Rule Related to Residential Rental Late Fees and Penalties
​On what date may landlords resume charging late rental fees and penalties because the emergency rule is no longer in effect?

Late rental fees and penalties may be charged starting August 9, 2020.

Late fees and penalties may never be assessed or charged for any missed rent payment or any late rent payment that occurred during the effective period of the emergency rule. The emergency rule is effective from April 25, 2020 through August 8, 2020. ​

It seems to me that August 8th is mathematically improbable, but it is the date we should adhere to.

Why improbable?

If the Public Health Emergency ended with the May 13th Supreme Court decision, then 90 days is August 11th. This has no consequence for most tenancies as the due date of the rent would generally be August first.

However, as The WI Supreme Court found EO 28 to be “unlawful invalid and unenforceable”, then the Public Health Emergency ended on 4/24 with the expiration of EO 12, 90 days after is July 23rd.

If you charged late fees after April 24th you have violated the DATCP 134. The penalties for doing so are great. You should reverse those late fees and notify your tenants that you have done so.

More important than late fees of course is working with your tenants that are struggling. My company waived late fees for April, well before the moratorium. We will evaluate the situation for September based on what we see the economy doing at that time.

Remember that a full third of people who have applied for WI Unemployment and Federal Pandemic Unemployment have not received payment.

Jun 06

There is a prohibition against evictions for nonpayment until July 25th for tenants receiving Rent Assistance or properties covered by the CARES ACT due to having a federally backed mortgage. There are some other factors as well. For an overview see the prior posts on Eviction Moratoriums Under the CARES ACT and Eviction Moratoriums under Section 8, Rent Assist.

But can you evict for cause? Yes.

Be aware if you try to “invent” a cause eviction to remove someone who isn’t paying in a covered unit you may have more problems than just losing the eviction case. So save this for solving the problem it was meant to be used for.

Here is a HUD FAQ on this:

Q8. During the moratorium period, may owners evict tenants for lease violations that are not related to nonpayment of rent, fees, or charges?

Yes, the CARES Act moratorium does not apply to evictions based on violations of permitted lease terms other than nonpayment of rent or other fees, penalties, and charges. CDBG, NSP and CDBG-DR grantees, subrecipients, and owners of properties with CDBG, NSP, or CDBG-DR- assisted loans should also review their state and local laws, as many are also enacting their own moratoriums on evictions. 

https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/CPD/documents/CDBG_Eviction_Moratorium_QAs_2020_05_18_FINAL.pdf

Jun 03

There is a lot to consider now that the eviction moratorium has been lifted, including the delays facing the eviction courts as well as if the tenant is still waiting to receive unemployment or other payments.

Vacancies and evictions are expensive for owners and disruptive for tenants. When there is a better option, take it. In some cases, mediation may be a better answer than court.

In all cases, you should talk to your tenants before filing, both to understand their situation as well as giving them time to make arrangements to pay or move.

Suggest they attempt to get on the WI Rent Assist Program waiting list as well as apply for Emergency Assistance. We have links to these as well as a list of other resources for tenants on the Affordable Rental Associates, Tenant Resource page that you can share with your tenants.

I am reading more and more that both state and federal unemployment is not being paid as it should be. Part of the problem is many employers are closed and therefore are not responding to UC separation notices. Part of the problem is the state computers they are trying to process the deluge of new applications on is less powerful than your kids Nintendo.

The Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program has not paid one of three who should be eligible to receive it:

Almost one-third of unemployment benefits estimated to be owed to the millions of Americans who lost their jobs as a result of the coronavirus slump haven’t been paid yet, as flagship policies struggle to cope with the unprecedented wave of layoffs.

Source: Bloomberg

Likewise, Wisconsin has 728,000 unpaid/unprocessed Unemployment claims, which is also about one in three:

As of Monday, [May 27th] the state had yet to pay more than 728,000 of 2.4 million weekly claims that had been filed since March 15, when the coronavirus pandemic began to batter the state’s economy. Others have encountered problems that have prevented them from filing claims.

Source: Milwaukee Journal

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