Bakersfield Evictions

11/19/2023

Why Landlords Need a Receiver

Many landlords accept payments directly from tenants, either directly or through a deposit system such as deposits to the landlord’s bank account or by accepting payments through Zelle, CashApp, or similar payment systems. This can lead to multiple problems during the eviction process.

Tenants can falsely claim tender of payment.

If payment is to be made directly to the landlord, the tenant may claim the payment was offered but the landlord refused to accept the payment. Tenants will sometimes buy money orders, allegedly for rent payments, copy the money orders, and then return the money orders for a refund. This creates “evidence” indicating rent was offered. Tenants may also write checks to a landlord as “evidence” they tried to pay.

Tenants may also claim they tried to make payment, but the landlord was not available to take payment. One way tenants have done this is by simply going to the landlord’s house before rent is due and taking a picture to show they were present with cash in hand.

Similarly, tenants sometimes claim payment was made - personally to the landlord, to someone else at the landlord’s house, or using a rent drop box – but the landlord lost the payment.

Tenants can make payments after the eviction process has begun.

At first blush, receiving money from a tenant does not seem like a problem, but it can cause an unlawful detainer to be dismissed, with the landlord bearing the full cost of the suit.

This unfortunate situation arises when the landlord accepts payment through one of the many financial applications (Zelle, CashApp, Paypal, etc.) or when bank deposits are an accepted form of payment.

After receiving a notice to pay or quit, a tenant may make a small deposit to invalidate the notice. Even worse, the tenant can make a deposit after an unlawful detainer action has been filed. The landlord can, theoretically, immediately return or reject the payment, but such attempts are not always successful.

Tenants can be violent.

Sometimes tempers flair when a tenant is being evicted. A tenant often has personal problems that culminate in an eviction, such as drug addiction, loss of employment, divorce, or poor health. The stress of personal problems and a pending eviction can cause tenants to behave erratically, sometimes violently.

What type of receiver is best?

The most economical receiver is simply to have payments made at the landlord’s office. If a landlord has an office job with multiple people present, the landlord will have witnesses to any transactions, and the threat of violence is reduced as the number of people present increases.

At the high end of the cost spectrum is a property manager. A property management company will act as receiver and will handle most tenant matters. This may be a good option for hands-off landlords, but a good property manager may be expensive.

A low-cost solution is a mail processing service that accepts deliveries, such as PostNet.com, TheUPSStore.com, or TinyBusinessGroup.com. There are many similar services, but these three appear to be the only ones in Bakersfield that have physical locations and allow package drop-offs. There appear to be advantages and disadvantages to each of these three.

PostNet.com has Saturday hours and is generally open from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. during the week. It was difficult to get pricing from them over the phone. They seemed more interested in selling their virtual mail services

TheUPSStore.com may be closed on Thursday or other weekdays. Hours vary by location, but most are open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Be sure to choose a location that is able to receive packages (checks and money orders) on weekdays. Small size boxes from UPS appear to run between $15 and $30 a month, and medium size boxes run between $20 and $50 a month.

TinyBusinessGroup.com is only open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday; however, they are the only provider that takes cash payments and accepts service of process. When a payment or service of process attempt is made, the clerk at TinyBusinessGroup.com checks an instruction sheet and either accepts or rejects payment or delivery of service based on the client’s wishes. Cost is $25 per month.

Full disclosure: I am a partner with TinyBusinessGroup.com

12/04/2021

Free Legal Help Seminars at the Library

Seminars are every Tuesday from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the Beale Memorial Library
701 Truxtun Ave.
Bakersfield, CA 93301

A panel of local attorneys holds free informational workshops to answer questions asked by those who attend.

The seminars are organized by Bakersfield Paralegal (661)489-3369 and sponsored by the Kern County Library (661) 868-0701 and the Kern County Law Library (661) 868-5320.

Walk-ins are welcome. Bring your paperwork and questions, and chat with an attorney for free.

Eviction, Eviction Defense, Family law (divorce, custody, support, etc.), Criminal law (expungements, sealing orders, etc.), Immigration, Civil, and more.

08/29/2021

Supreme Court Strikes Down Moratorium - August 26, 2021

The eviction moratorium is over, but not really.

On August 26, 2021, the United States Supreme Court struck down the federal eviction moratorium, explaining “The moratorium has put… millions of landlords across the country, at risk of irreparable harm by depriving them of rent payments with no guarantee of eventual recovery… If a federally imposed eviction moratorium is to continue, Congress must specifically authorize it.”
This decision has little, if any, impact on California landlords and tenants because the California moratorium, and the moratoriums in many cities and counties, remain. Nonetheless, we continue to successfully file evictions for cause as well as for non-payment of rent where the non-payment is not the result of Covid-19.

The Supreme Court’s full decision can be read here:

08/04/2021

The Moratorium is Back

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issuing a new order temporarily halting evictions in counties with heightened levels of community transmission. The new moratorium is intended to target specific areas of the country where cases are rapidly increasing, which likely would be exacerbated by mass evictions. This moratorium may be a complete halt to evictions until October 3, 2021 when the new orders expire. The order bans evictions in counties experiencing substantial COVID19 transmission levels, which is defined by formula in the order, so the eviction you start today may be banned tomorrow if the COVID numbers go up.

The order can be read here:

08/03/2021

Is the moratorium over?

Yes, no, well... sort of but not really.

The federal eviction moratorium is over at the moment (August 3, 2021 at 4:15 p.m.) but it may be reinstated in some form at any moment. However, it doesn't matter much for California landlords and tenants. Tenants in California have protections from eviction under state law, and some tenants (not those in Kern County) have protection under city or county law.

There is also protect against "no cause" evictions, meaning an eviction where the landlord does not state a reason. Until October 1, 2021, a landlord can only evict a tenant if they provide a legally valid reason.

If a tenant is unable to pay all or some of the rent due between September 1, 2020 and September 30, 2021, the tenant may be able to avoid eviction by giving the landlord a declaration of COVID-19 related financial distress, signed under penalty of perjury, and returned within 15 business days of receiving a notice to "pay or quit." In addition, the tenant must pay at least 25% of the rent due during the period of September 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021.

However, this does not prevent a for-cause eviction, such as damaging the property or violating lease terms.

In short, a tenant whose only violation of the lease terms is an inability to pay because of COVID-19 generally cannot be evicted.

07/05/2021

State and Federal eviction moratoriums have been extended, but it's not all bad for landlords.

The Center for Disease Control has extended the residential eviction ban through July 31, 2021 and commented that expected to be the final extension of the eviction ban.

The Order protects tenants who:

1. are unable to pay their full rent due to a substantial loss of income
2. have used their best efforts to obtain government assistance for housing
3. are making their best efforts to make timely partial payments of rent, and
4. would become homeless or have to move into a shared living setting if they were to be evicted.

The tenant must also meet one of the following financial criteria:

1. Earned no more than $99,000 (individuals) or $198,000 (filing joint tax return) in 2020
2. Received an Economic Impact Payment or to any other similar federally authorized payments made to individuals in 2020 and 2021.

However, California extended its eviction moratorium through September 30, 2021, which at first blush looks bad for landlords, but the bill (AB 832, entitled Rental Housing Recovery Act) provides for funding that can be used to repay 100% of the tenant's accumulated past-due rent.

Assembly Bill No. 832 CHAPTER 27   An act to amend Sections 789.4, 1788.65, 1788.66, 1942.5, and 3273.1 of the Civil Code, to amend Sections 116.223, 871.10, 871.11, 871.12, 1161.2.5, 1179.02, 1179.03, 1179.03.5, 1179.04, 1179.05, and 1179.07 of, to amend and repeal Section 1161.2 of, and to add an...

04/07/2021

Trial Setting - Bad News for Landlords - Good News of Tenants

We just got trial dates for a few evictions we filed in Kern County. The trials are set in just over two months. This long delay could be costly to landlords as tenants who have stopped paying rent are allowed to continue to live in the property.

03/11/2021

On March 10, 2021 a federal judge in the Northern District of Ohio ruled that the federal eviction moratorium is unconstitutional.

The judge noted that “Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act authorizes the promulgation and enforcement of regulations to protect the public health against the interstate spread of communicable diseases.”

The judge noted that “Congress directed the actions set forth in Section 361 to certain animals or articles, those so infected as to be a dangerous source of infection to people. On the face of the statute, the agency must direct other measures to specific targets ‘found’ to be sources of infection—not to amorphous disease spread but, for example, to actually infected animals, or at least those likely to be, which also have the required nexus with interstate or foreign commerce.”

The court then found that this authority “does not extend the agency's reach to an action such as evictions.” The court’s full opinion is available here:

02/26/2021

On February 25, 2021, a federal judge in Texas ruled that the federal eviction moratorium is unconstitutional. Attorneys for the landlords argued that the “authority to order property owners not to evict specified tenants… is not among the limited powers granted to the federal government in Article I of the Constitution.” The lawsuit did “not question that the States may regulate residential evictions and foreclosures” but only concerned whether the federal government could. In concluding that the moratorium is unconstitutional, the judge noted, “Although the COVID-19 pandemic persists, so does the Constitution.” The full decision can be accessed through the link.