Rep. Barbara Lee, and a Chicago-area colleague introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday that would prohibit landlords from evicting tenants during the COVID-19 coronavirus public health emergency.
Lee and co-sponsor Jesus Garcia, D-Chicago, said the bill, which has 39 additional co-sponsors, will be part of the third COVID-19 stimulus package introduced in the House of Representatives, which is called the “Take
Responsibility for Workers and Families Ac.”
“As more workers are losing their jobs or having their hours limited, families are put at risk of missing rent or forgoing food on the table,” Lee said in a statement.
Lee said, “This important legislation ensures that renters in the Bay Area and the nation cannot be evicted from their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. We must ensure that everyone has access to quality housing
no matter their financial situation.”
Lee and Garcia said the bill would prohibit landlords from evicting tenants due to failure to pay rent or other causes, unless the tenant commits a serious criminal act that would endanger the health, life and safety of other tenants.
They said the bill would self-terminate six months after the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency ends the coronavirus emergency that’s been declared by President Donald Trump.
So are they protecting the owners as well? Are they talking to the banks to forgive mortgage at the same time? Why are only the renters being protected? If I miss mortgage payments for a couple of months it will affect my credit history … will it affect the renter? Will the landlord be able to collectd it as back rent?
And yes, I am a landlord.
My mom is a landlord with 3 rental units. Who is going to make her payments? If u excuse the renters then u must do the same for landlords. Thank god she has great tenants. She is 87 years old and on a fixed income.
people are under the wrong impression. Most landlords do not own their property outright.
Before I owned I rented for a decade, always paid on time, treated the property like it was my own, did most repairs out of my own pocket. The owners never seemed to appreciate having a good renter, never updated anything, was not interested in having any sort of a “relationship” between renter and owner, it’s quite sad to me, it was obviously just a business deal to him —times like these are a good reason to have some sort of a relationship with your renter, open communication.
The way I’ve seen owners talk about renters in Claycord comments, like they are below them, in a lower class, it disgusts me. Owners are waiting for their rent check every month without excuses and now that some renters may have lost their jobs and may have to decide between feeding their kids or paying their rent, I hear no understanding, no empathy for the stress this has caused some people. Everyone for themselves I guess! I am not surprised to hear such self absorbed comments from owners though.
Property owners are business people but they also provide an important need in our communities and could perhaps show more care with that responsibility. Renters don’t know how owners will make their mortgage payments during the moratorium, that is the owners responsibility as an owner so hopefully said owner has saved for a “rainy day” and not spent their money on alcohol, smokes, gambling, vacations (but it’s nobody’s business how anyone spends their money 😉 wink). If you are angry and tired of renters then maybe it’s time to get out of the “business “. Sorry, don’t feel sorry for owners.
Most major banks have suspended mortgage payments. Call your banks, I’m sure with the rent moratorium there will be help for owners with rental properties anyway.