Ask Terry Questions Small claims courts — can they help landlords?

Small claims courts — can they help landlords?

By Terry Savage on December 27, 2020 | Wild Card

Do you foresee any Covid based changes to the award limits to assist landlords and others to recover rents once the eviction ban is lifted? If not, is there a forum to entertain this suggestion? Thanks.

Terry Says

That’s going to be a problem for the future. Right now, evictions are stayed — and if the President signs the new stimulus bill that issue will be postponed for at least another month. Many “small” landlords — people who own a four-flat or a few apartments — are suffering as much as their tenants who can’t pay rent. If they don’t collect rents, landlords can’t pay property taxes or heating bills. The real impact of this situation has not been generally recognized yet. We will see what the next Congress has to say about this.

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