A Foreseeable Mess

Eighteen (18) months ago your humble blogger, viewing how the eviction moratorium was playing out, predicted:

Whether by means of Federal law, State law, or executive order, long-term eviction moratoriums will have far-reaching consequences on housing markets.

Some landlords will lose their properties, many rent liabilities will be too large for small claims court, more tenants will declare bankruptcy, housing supply will be withdrawn because of higher owner risk, tenant credit requirements will rise, and there will definitely be more paperwork.

The last of the extensions will supposedly expire this month. The Chronicle profiled both tenants and small landlords who have been affected by the moratorium: [bold added]

Now, as landlord and tenant groups battle over the future of renter protections, both sides warn that housing could get harder to find as property owners — fed up with California’s piecemeal approach to rent relief and evictions — take rentals off the market or raise income requirements in a bid to insulate themselves from future tenant disputes.

Susan Marchionna: with no job, a non-paying tenant, and
a mortgage to pay, selling is her only option (Chron photo)

All this was easily foreseeable as the government made landlords bear the burden of COVID relief, instead of disbursing funds to tenants and anyone else whom the government wanted to help.

One final twist of the knife to landlords who want to get out of the business:

Real estate listing sites estimate that [Berkeley single-rental Susan] Marchionna’s home could be worth some $1.3 million.

She said agents have advised that the sale price could be significantly reduced if a tenant is still living in the home. It’s a stalemate that has left her regretting ever getting into the rental business, and especially trying to be flexible with would-be tenants.