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New Year, New Updates – What Not to Miss Going into 2022

January 12, 2022 0 Comment Category: Real Estate

Greetings!

Everyone at Davidovich Stein Law Group LLP wishes you a Happy New Year and hopes you are feeling well with 2022 off to a great start!

We wanted to provide you with a few updates based on recent questions that are coming up frequently.

1. WHEN IS THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES GOING TO END ITS LOCAL EMERGENCY?

We get this question every day.

The real answer is no one can know definitively, and with Omicron numbers and the effect it’s having changing daily, there’s no reliable predictor. That’s the bad news.

The GOOD news is that, to a degree, the dam has broken, so to speak.

You may recall that in December, one LA City Councilperson, Joe Buscaino of the 15th District, said he would no longer vote for any further extensions of the local emergency, becoming the first LA City Councilperson to publicly declare as much. He also passed a motion asking the City Administrator’s Office too to issue a report regarding “all emergency orders, ordinances, policies, and revenues, that are contingent upon the City Council’s continued ratification of the Mayor’s State of Emergency declaration.” (See More Here) This was seconded by Councilperson Paul Krekorian, suggesting he may also be veering away from further support of extending the local emergency.

In a vote on January 7, 2022, Buscaino stayed true to his word: he was one of two votes AGAINST extending the local emergency.  (See Offical Action)

Though Krekorian ended up voting for the extension, another Councilperson, John Lee of the 12th District, also voted against the extension, meaning that for the first time two Councilpersons voted against extending the local emergency.

It suggests that, as time goes by, we can at least hope for more Councilpersons to vote against the extension. Once there are 7 who vote against (given there are only 14 people on the City Council right now with Mark Ridley-Thomas suspended), the motion to extend the local emergency will fail to pass, and the Mayor will presumably then be forced to lift the local emergency.

Once the local emergency is lifted, that (should) put an end to the rent freeze, permit no-fault evictions (including Ellis evictions) within 60 days after the end of the local emergency, and permit regular nonpayment of rent evictions to begin again.

The next vote should occur somewhere around February 7-10, 2022, and we will keep you apprised of the results.

2. WHAT NEW ITEMS GO IN LEASES FOR 2022?

Fortunately, there is not much in the way of addition to lease terms that need to be made this year.

Beginning January 1, 2022, California rental housing providers will have to provide a booklet on Mold to prospective residents. The booklet, “Information on Dampness and Mold for Renters in California,” comes from the State’s Department of Public Health. Should you need a copy, please contact us and we can provide you with a copy.

This booklet is required by legislation that was passed in 2001, (SB 732, the Toxic Mold Protection Act) but not developed by the Department of Public Health until now.

3. WHEN IS THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY MORATORIUM ENDING?

Again, a tricky thing to predict.  As you may know, the County of Los Angeles, in line with AB 832, ended its moratorium on nonpayment of rent evictions effective September 30, 2021.

However, it extended its moratorium on virtually all no-fault residential evictions, as well as extending its moratorium on commercial nonpayment of rent evictions, and ADDED a moratorium on commercial no-fault evictions, all through January 31, 2022.

An extension of the emergency is not on the agenda for today’s meeting (January 11, 2022), so that means it will likely be on the agenda for either January 18 or 25. There is a significant concern they may extend through March 31, 2022, given the alarming rise of Omicron infections, despite the lack of effect it’s having on overall unemployment numbers (those having dropped to 3.9% as of the latest report, considered to be a very strong economic indicator). We will keep you apprised of the Board’s decisions as they are published.

If there is any way we may be of service to you in the interim, please feel free to call us anytime, we’d be delighted to help you in any way we can.

Or, if you have any other legal issues pertaining to real estate, transactional or litigation matters, landlord/tenant issues, or construction issues, we are here to be of service to you.

The attorneys at Davidovich Stein Law Group LLP have helped countless clients, so if you’re facing a similar situation, call our office today.