LA Announces $100M for Rental-Assistance Program
The city of Los Angeles announced Wednesday a $100 million uptick to a program that could help tenants pay their rent during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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California Senators Advance Contentious Business Relief Bill
Coming to the aid of businesses short on rent, California lawmakers on Friday advanced a statewide moratorium on commercial evictions and a path for those hit hardest by the pandemic to cancel their leases.
Read moreSecret Porn Set
The owner of a home on Martha’s Vineyard may pursue her civil conspiracy and emotional distress claims against a renter who secretly used the property as a set for pornographic movies and photographs, but cannot continue with breach of contract, trespass and other claims, a federal court in Massachusetts ruled.
Read moreDon’t Even Try It
San Diego’s U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer on Monday warned landlords not to “demand sexual favors from cash-strapped tenants who can’t pay rent due to Covid-19,” calling it “not only despicable — it is illegal.”
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Tenants Plan Rent Strikes as Pandemic Worsens Housing Crisis
Eviction moratoriums across the country are keeping people in their apartments, but millions of Americans could not make their rent payments April 1. They cannot pay May 1 either. And when the bans are lifted, homelessness will be staring them in the face.
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San Francisco Freezes Rent Hikes, Requires Protective Gear for Essential Workers
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed two ordinances Tuesday temporarily banning rent increases and requiring a large portion of essential businesses to provide gloves, masks and other protective gear for workers.
Read moreKnock It Off
The FTC sued Prog Leasing aka Progressive Leasing, of Draper, Utah in federal court, claiming it has received more than 15,000 consumer complaints in 15 months about its rent-to-own payment plans.
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Disabled Renters’ Fight Over Oakland Rent Control Advances
Low-income renters whose disabilities may have excluded them from participating in Oakland’s rent control program got the green light from a federal judge on their lawsuit against the city.
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Beleaguered Tenants Plan Rent Strikes
With millions of people suddenly out of work and rent due on Wednesday, some tenants are vowing to go on a rent strike until the coronavirus pandemic subsides.
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World Economy Staggers Under Massive Layoffs
The rapid spread of the coronavirus since it was reported in China in December has dealt an unprecedented shock to the global economy.
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Most Renters Will Get No Help
Most Americans who rent their home, many of whom have lost their jobs in the sudden economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus outbreak, will not be eligible for eviction protections, despite what President Trump said this week.
Read moreWar on Immigrants
The Legal Aid Society sued the Department of Housing and Urban Development in federal court for information on its plan to withhold rental assistance to any household whose leaseholder is not an eligible immigrant, regardless of the presence of eligible U.S. citizens or immigrants in the household.
Read moreRental Cars
A federal class action claims that Payless Car Rental, Dollar Rent a Car, Advantage Rent a Car, et al. charge a bogus $3.50 tax on cars rented at San Diego International Airport, falsely claiming the tax is required by the Port of San Diego.
Read moreRent Control
G-Max Management and a dozen others sued New York State in federal court, claiming its Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, on rent control, is unconstitutional.
Read moreAffordable Housing
A class action accuses Santa Monica of violating rules on maximum rents allowed under the Affordable Housing Production Program by not basing them on median income, in L.A. Superior Court.
Read moreAnti-Harassment Law Signed for NY Tenants With Rent Control
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law Tuesday a bill that expands protections for rent-stabilized and rent-regulated tenants, criminalizing certain actions by landlords who try to force them out.
Read moreFair Housing
The United States sued Hesperia, Calif., San Bernardino County and its Sheriff’s Department in federal court, claiming its rental property/eviction ordinance was enacted to drive black and Latino renters away and discourage them from moving in.
Read moreShort-Term Rentals
A city ordinance in Austin, Texas, that bans short-term rentals of non-owner-occupied rentals is “unconstitutionally retroactive,” an appeals court in the state ruled. A provision that restricts certain types of assembly at short-term rental properties also violates the state Constitution, according to the court.
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Elizabeth Warren Unveils Plan for Tenant Protections
“Rent burdened,” the position of spending a third of one’s income on housing, afflicts some 38% of Americans. Democratic presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren released a new plan Monday to address that and other problems renters face.
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