Evictions, Court, and Pool Updates (June 22)

Summertime is officially here, so I thought I'd give a quick update on non-payment evictions, CARES Act lawsuits, pool opening guidelines, and rent numbers for June. Enjoy!

Non-Payment of Rent Evictions

As I noted in my last post, there is NO stated deadline at the moment for when we can file evictions based on non-payment of rent.

I know that there’s a lot of bad information out there on the topic right now, so I wanted to reaffirm what I’ve told you before on two points:

1. Evictions at residential properties based on failure to pay are still prohibited. That includes more than just non-payment of rent evictions. It also applies to noncompliance or non-renewal of lease cases where the noncompliance or the non-renewal was motivated by the tenant’s failure to pay.
2. No one knows when non-payment evictions are going to be allowed to proceed.

I’ve had a few people call me and say that “their attorney” told them that they could file on July 1. As of right now, that is absolutely NOT correct. And my guess is that it will still not be correct on July 1.

As I’ve said before, my guess is that the Governor will open things up in late July or early August. There are three things that have to happen before you can file an eviction for non-payment.

1. The Governor will have to issue a new order allowing such evictions to proceed.
2. The Kentucky Supreme Court will to issue a new order allowing such evictions to proceed.
3. The local courts will have to start accepting such filings and hearing those cases.

So, after the Governor does act, there could be a bit of a delay in order for the Supreme Court and local courts to respond. But the Governor is the first mover.

I can tell you that he is getting plenty of heat to open things up. The Apartment Association of Kentucky has been urging him to open things up. He responded by asking for something in writing outlining the reasons that such evictions should be allowed again. That written statement has been delivered to him. The ball is now in his court.

The hope is that the Governor will make an announcement soon that nonpayment of rent evictions will be allowed in late-July, thereby giving landlords, tenants, and the court system time to make arrangements. So, be on the lookout for that. I think that’s the best case scenario right now.

CARES Act Properties - Notices to Pay or Vacate Yet

If you’re a property covered by the CARES Act, you cannot charge late fees or other fees as a result of the tenant’s failure to pay and you may not issue any demands to pay or vacate prior to July 25. There’s already been at least one lawsuit filed in Jefferson County against a landlord who issued a $91.00 late fees at a property covered by the CARES Act. Click here for more information about the lawsuit. 

If you don’t know if your property is covered by the CARES Act, check out this post. You should also check out the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac databases on the front page of this site. 

Rental Assistance 

For you landlords in Lexington, The Lexington Fair Housing Council is offering rental assistance tenants who have a realistic chance at staying in their current housing. So, if you have a tenant who would potentially be allowed to stay in your unit if they paid you an extra $1,000.00, send them to the tenant portal to register. Here’s the link to the portal.

Pools

As you probably know, pools in Kentucky are allowed to open on June 29. Here’s a link to the guidelines the Governor has issued. Here are some key points:

1. The maximum in-pool capacity is calculated by dividing the maximum water surface area by 40. If your pool has 2,000 square feet, then it would have a maximum capacity of 50 people in the pool at one time. Your maximum facility capacity is to be calculated by 36 square feet per person.

2. Chairs must be place six feet apart on all sides.

3. Pools must pay their licensing fees and receive an inspection prior to opening.

4. You must clean frequently touched surfaces frequently with an approved disinfectant.

5. You must provide hand sanitizer, tissues, handwashing facilities, and wastebaskets in convenient locations.

June Rent Numbers

Nationwide, nearly 90% of tenants paid rent from June 1-13. That’s better than June 2019 and May 2020. So, rent numbers continue to look good nationwide. I hope that’s what you’re seeing as well. Click here to see the report on rent number for June.

That’s it for today. I’m leaving town early Wednesday morning, so I won’t be in the office for the rest of the week. If you need anything in the meantime, email me at smarshall@tripleslaw.com. Have a great rest of your week.