Dear Landlords,

CoVID-19 is presenting new challenges for landlords, most notably in the form of your tenants not paying rent. Although both State and Federal Administrations have declared a national emergency in response to the outbreak of CoVID-19 and have allowed for the deferment of rent payments for tenants impacted by the coronavirus, no governmental agency has waived the obligation of any commercial or residential tenant to pay rent. Evictions based on causes of action which are not CoVID-19 related may still be pursued, and although we are able to file your Unlawful Detainer, currently all cases are halted by the courts. No summons are being issued for new cases until 90 days after the state of emergency is lifted. No default judgments may be taken for any cases until 90 days after the state of emergency is lifted. This includes evictions for non-payment of rent prior to the declaration of the rent-deferment policies.  Please see our FAQs page for more information on this.

Additionally, the Sheriff department that enforces evictions are also only handling emergency matters. For many landlords, having a tenant continue to occupy their property without paying rent is a tremendous hardship, but the courts and sheriff do not deem evictions an emergency. Evictions are effectively on hold until this emergency crisis passes.

With that said, our position at Liddle & Liddle is to recommend that it may be better to negotiate a partial rent payment with your tenant, whereby they will pay you a significant portion of the rent by the date specified in your rental agreement in exchange for a waiver of the percentage not collected.

We believe that if you express to them that you know they are experiencing hardship and want to help them, that they may be more responsive.

Our office remains committed to helping you resolve all your tenant-related issues. New cases can be started now, just be prepared to wait for our local court systems to resume eviction proceedings. We are constantly updating ourselves with the constant changing orders, and we are prepared to share new information as it becomes available.  We have added a CoVID-19 tab to our menu that will take you to the most up-to-date information that we have with regards to its effect on the landlord-tenant relationship.  We encourage you to visit the page daily to check for updates. 

Because we are all working remotely until the Shelter-at-home policy is lifted, the best way to reach us is via email at frontdesk@liddleandliddle.com. We thank you for your patience.

Stay safe and #StayHome.

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