What do you do for your renters when a crisis occurs?
Dustin Edwards • April 9, 2020
Key Actions to Help Your Renters in Times of Need
In any given economy someone is experiencing a crisis. It could be a health crisis, death in the family, loss of a job, severe accident or any number of unfortunate events. When a crisis occurs to an individual, sadly it doesn’t hit the headlines and that person is left to resolve their challenges with those that they are responsible to. If someone encounters a challenge they are often responsible to their employer, family, utility companies and yes their property management company (and the owner of that property).
With the current challenge of COVID-19 impacting a large majority of the US and global markets it brings to the forefront how to approach a crisis with not just one individual but many. Over the years we have dealt with a variety of challenges from those that we manage and we invite you to consider the following core principles to handle today’s scenario.
Open Lines of Communication
For many people, when they encounter a challenge they don’t want to acknowledge the issue. Whether it is fear of the unknown, embarrassment or just not knowing what to say many people default to saying and doing nothing which can cause a small challenge to become a larger one.
In times where there are larger economic forces impacting someone’s ability to pay we encourage people to send an email or even a letter out to their renters letting them know that you are there to understand their situation. Creating an open dialogue is a powerful step to ensuring you can find a solution that can work for all parties involved. Remember, even in times of larger economic impact not everyone is impacted the same and that means many renters can (and will) still make their payments.
Be Aware of the Laws at Every Level (Federal, State, County, and City)
Like many across the US we have been reading a wide array of articles on how people are handling the situation. Some property managers have been heavy handed threatening eviction, and some have demanded the stimulus check be sent to them. On the other end of the spectrum many tenants have felt that they can now enjoy “free rent” and that it should be mandated that there is “rent abatement”. With either of these extreme viewpoints there are challenges and most of these opinions have been developed from the stress and anxiety associated with meeting financial obligations.
As the property owner (or empowering your property management company) it is important to understand the laws at every level that pertain to a renter’s right as well as a property owner. In fast changing times, like now, it is important to understand how laws have been changed, even when they are temporary.
Take for example in the city of Los Angeles who passed protections related to evictions during these challenging times. Some renters took the moratorium as an opportunity for free rent, yet there are documentation requirements and the law mandate still identifies that “Tenants are still obligated to pay lawfully charged rent.”
Whether you decide to manage your own property or leverage the expertise of a property management company in Long Beach we encourage you to take the approach of creating open lines of communication and building a foundation of knowledge of property ownership rights to help you meet today’s challenge and more. When you would like help managing your rental property in Long Beach
we invite you to call us today at (562) 888-0247. We can also share with you our strategy for managing properties through these turbulent times.
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