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submitted 1 year ago by tree@lemmy.zip to c/nottheonion@lemmy.world

The Berkeley Property Owners Association's fall mixer is called "Celebrating the End of the Eviction Moratorium."


A group of Berkeley, California landlords will hold a fun social mixer over cocktails to celebrate their newfound ability to kick people out of their homes for nonpayment of rent, as first reported by Berkeleyside.

The Berkeley Property Owner Association lists a fall mixer on its website on Tuesday, September 12, 530 PM PST. “We will celebrate the end of the Eviction Moratorium and talk about what's upcoming through the end of the year,” the invitation reads. The event advertises one free drink and “a lovely selection of appetizers,” and encourages attendees to “join us around the fire pits, under the heat lamps and stars, enjoying good food, drink, and friends.”

The venue will ironically be held at a space called “Freehouse”, according to its website. Attendees who want to join in can RSVP on their website for $20.

Berkeley’s eviction moratorium lasted from March 2020 to August 31, 2023, according to the city’s Rent Board, during which time tenants could not be legally removed from their homes for nonpayment of rent. Landlords could still evict tenants if they had “Good Cause” under city and state law, which includes health and safety violations. Landlords can still not collect back rent from March 2020 to April 2023 through an eviction lawsuit, according to the Rent Board.

Berkeleyside spoke to one landlord planning to attend the eviction moratorium party who was frustrated that they could not evict a tenant—except that they could evict the tenant, who was allegedly a danger to his roommates—but the landlord found the process of proving a health and safety violation too tedious and chose not to pursue it.

The Berkeley Property Owner Association is a landlord group that shares leadership with a lobbying group called the Berkeley Rental Housing Coalition which advocated against a law banning source of income discrimination against Section 8 tenants and other tenant protections.

The group insists on not being referred to as landlords, however, which they consider “slander.” According to the website, “We politely decline the label "landlord" with its pejorative connotations.” They also bravely denounce feudalism, an economic system which mostly ended 500 years ago, and say that the current system is quite fair to renters.

“Feudalism was an unfair system in which landlords owned and benefited, and tenant farmers worked and suffered. Our society is entirely different today, and the continued use of the legal term ‘landlord’ is slander against our members and all rental owners.” Instead, they prefer to be called “housing providers.”

While most cities’ eviction moratoria elapsed in 2021 and 2022, a handful of cities in California still barred evictions for non-payment into this year. Alameda County’s eviction moratorium expired in May, Oakland’s expired in July. San Francisco’s moratorium also elapsed at the end of August, but only covered tenants who lost income due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In May, Berkeley’s City Council added $200,000 to the city’s Eviction Defense Funds, money which is paid directly to landlords to pay tenants’ rent arrears, but the city expected those funds to be tapped out by the end of June.


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[-] style99@kbin.social 173 points 1 year ago

Berkeleyside spoke to one landlord planning to attend the eviction moratorium party who was frustrated that they could not evict a tenant—except that they could evict the tenant, who was allegedly a danger to his roommates—but the landlord found the process of proving a health and safety violation too tedious and chose not to pursue it.

I feel like people should really read this part and fully absorb what it means.

[-] ryathal@sh.itjust.works 57 points 1 year ago

It's not that surprising, courts require specific hard evidence. Getting the roommates present to testify may or may not be enough, but it's far more difficult than showing unpaid rent or a hoarding situation.

[-] BluJay320 82 points 1 year ago

Oh, boo hoo. A landlord actually having to do work. How awful, this is truly a tragedy of unspoken proportions

[-] holycrapwtfatheism@kbin.social 29 points 1 year ago

Been a landlord for almost 20 years. I've rebuilt some of these houses myself from an auctioned off unlivable disaster to a safe, clean, maintained property. To imply landlords don't work is such a narrow sighted view of reality. I got a glimpse during covid of an eviction moratorium a tenant that had quite a bit of hardship and I worked with her for 5 years pre-covid. Heating oil run out she couldn't afford I filled it out of pocket for her and her family. If she needed flexibility on rent timing I worked with her. When she snuck an untrained dog classified as an emotion support dog that chewed up the house's 70 year old woodwork stairs and balusters. I worked with her. When covid hit and the moratorium was about to go live her lease was up1 month prior. She ceased paying rent and utilities, I was informed I'd have to cover all her expenses during the moratorium. If she hadn't had that lease end right before this moratorium she would've continued staying there for free while I covered her family's entire housing and utilities. In the end my thanks for covering her and enforcing the lease end date was an entire house abandoned and full of trash and pest. Took my wife and I almost 2 months and close to $5000 to clean, repaint, repair/replace that property on top of the maintenance costs. This isn't a black and white situation..
Tldr, I guess: Evictions are a last resort for people who have had an agreement no longer be met by the other party. Should never have mad a moratorium on that legal process imo, it needed to have flexibility to help both parties not just shoulder 1 party with all the responsibility. The party is in extremely poor taste but I can understand their relief if they have similar tenants they can hopefully divest of after years of what my example held. I wouldn't have been able to do it for 3 years financially or mentally.

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[-] BluJay320 135 points 1 year ago

“We prefer to be called ‘housing providers’”

I’ll call you extortionists. Take it or leave it.

[-] MelodiousFunk@kbin.social 97 points 1 year ago

“We prefer to be called ‘housing providers’”

Landlords provide housing like scalpers provide concert tickets.

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[-] nbafantest@lemmy.world 24 points 1 year ago

extortionists

This only exists because almost every American city makes it illegal, or very difficult to build new housing. It's very hard to extort people when the a proper supply.

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[-] Agent641@lemmy.world 72 points 1 year ago

Completely unrelated question but where can I buy termites, and where can I buy a slingshot, and how many Gees can you subject a termite to without killing it?

[-] JackLSauce@lemmy.world 30 points 1 year ago

Assuming you mean "Gs" but I'm fascinated by what you have in mind for the last bit

[-] totallynotarobot@lemmy.world 46 points 1 year ago

No, they meant "Gees"

It's a good question, since termite gees may be different from bee gees.

[-] plantedworld@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago

Yeah but they wanted to know how many before the termites weren't stayin' alive anymore

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[-] blazera@kbin.social 61 points 1 year ago

Landlords provide no benefit to society, outlaw them

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[-] billbasher@lemmy.world 55 points 1 year ago

The party is overall shitty I agree with that. I also don’t think people should be able to own more than one home just to get rental income and have someone else pay their mortgage. This depletes the housing supply and takes away wealth building opportunities for families trying to build their own wealth.

That being said, this could have been handled better. If tenants could pause rent then the banks should have paused payments on mortgages that qualify as well, or just all mortgages.

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[-] Stern@lemmy.world 50 points 1 year ago

They prefer to be called "Housing Providers"

Parasites prefer to be called "Sharing friends"

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[-] kescusay@lemmy.world 42 points 1 year ago

Hey guys, we all hate landlords. A lot. The phrase that immediately comes to mind is "scum-sucking weasels." But let's not go overboard with the violent language, OK?

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[-] HawlSera@lemm.ee 42 points 1 year ago

I... I thought this was satire...

You mean it's not?

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[-] lycanrising@lemmy.world 38 points 1 year ago

they prefer to be called “housing providers.”

no

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[-] Kiosade@lemmy.ca 36 points 1 year ago

Landlords are leeches on society. Play the stockmarket if you want to make money, don’t (continue to) make housing a source of gross profit.

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[-] masterofn001@lemmy.ca 36 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Coming soon: the end of the guillotine moratorium.

(This is happening worldwide.

In Canada the average rent ~~for a 1bdrm~~ is now over $2k

5 years ago I paid 800 for a 2 bdrm.

You're lucky to rent a room for that now.

That's why.)

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[-] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 34 points 1 year ago

Feudalism was an unfair system in which landlords owned and benefited, and tenant farmers worked and suffered. Our society is ~~entirely~~ not different today

There, fixed it

[-] reagansrottencorpse@lemmy.world 34 points 1 year ago

Listen up everybody, they prefer being called "housing providers" instead of landlords now.

If I lived nearby I'd organize a bunch of people to buy tickets to their event and ruin it.

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[-] Cornpop@lemmy.world 33 points 1 year ago

I would be partying too, you gotta pay your rent. That's insane they couldn't evict for that.

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[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 32 points 1 year ago

Attendees who want to join in can RSVP on their website for $20.

That's a bargain for a bunch of agitators to come in and stir up trouble. I'm just saying.

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[-] luthis@lemmy.nz 31 points 1 year ago

What? You couldn't kick out tenants if they weren't paying rent before?? That's insane.

Obviously there should be grace periods etc and the whole system is fucked with house prices, but if you're providing a service and people don't pay for the service, you should be able to stop providing the service.

[-] Fisk400@feddit.nu 59 points 1 year ago

The service is warmth, shelter and safety. I just want to point that out since you really want to make it sound like it's the same as a Netflix subscription.

[-] whitepawn@reddthat.com 26 points 1 year ago

All true. But what’s also true is paying a mortgage with rental income. It’s why some folks found themselves out anyway as the house was sold. When a landlord is backed into a corner financially, this is their answer.

What is also an answer is rentals sitting vacant out of squatting fear. I found this often while travel nursing. Landlords who would rent to me for 3+ months, but only because I’m temporary and can show them I already have a home. When folks stop honoring the contract to pay for the shit they’re borrowing, less inventory is going to be a very real outcome.

Consider. Your monthly income is 4 rentals at $1500 each, minus expenses. Property tax. Income tax. Maintenance. Possibly a water/sewage bill. One stops paying. Then 2. Enter legal expenses. Your current mortgage where you’re living is still due. Managing it and providing your own childcare is your full time job.

There’s this whole ethos that there are no people involved on the landlord side and there can be no financial struggle from anyone with a landlord title.

That and there’s a very simple fact of it’s not your shit. You’re borrowing someone else’s things under contract.

I agree it’s not ideal, but systemic housing change comes from several steps above a landlord. She’s just someone with extra shit she can lend out for a fee. Punishing her in the meantime like she owes you something, after making property available for use so someone can have a home, not cool. She doesn’t owe you rent or a home.

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[-] Chriszz@lemmy.world 37 points 1 year ago

The responses absolutely blow my mind here. I’ve been fucked over by landlords before but it’s completely illogical to expect someone to just let you live in their apts rent free.

[-] MotoAsh@lemmy.world 36 points 1 year ago

No one is saying people should be able to simply not pay bills. They want the bills to not exist. People deserve mortgages of their own.

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[-] galloog1@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago

It got pretty bad for a while. Landlords were stuck with properties that had tenants that were getting absolutely destroyed and there was nothing they could legally do about it. It resulted in increased barriers they put up to ensure that folks would actually pay rent and not destroy properties. It's become increasingly difficult to actually get an apartment in many cities with this rule in place.

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[-] Fedizen@lemmy.world 24 points 1 year ago

They're gathering a bunch of people who are destroying society in the same place, you say?

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this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2023
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