San Francisco landlords are suing the city over the COVID-era eviction moratorium.
Real estate groups are taking legal action to overturn San Francisco’s COVID-19 Tenant Protection Ordinance. The Board of Supervisors passed the law earlier this month. It permanently protects renters from eviction if they’re not able to pay rent due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The groups suing are San Francisco Apartment Association, the San Francisco Association of Realtors, the Coalition for Better Housing, and Small Property Owners of San Francisco Institute.
They allege that the moratorium violates state law. They’re arguing it leaves landlords to resort to costly methods of collecting rent. They also say that small property owners are particularly vulnerable.
Under the ordinance, landlords are able to collect back rent from tenants through the courts. But they’re concerned this will be a lengthy process—and they’re afraid they may never recover the money owed to them.
Supervisor Dean Preston authored the city’s eviction moratorium. In a statement, he criticizes the lawsuit, calling it an attempt by landlords to “displace people who lost income due to COVID from their homes.”
According to the San Francisco Examiner, the San Francisco Apartment Association says they’ve been advocating for rent assistance—like rent reductions and payment plans—to help solve the problem.
