California has become a blueprint for how other states enforce health and safety protections in multifamily rental properties.
Americans across the country deal with substandard living conditions daily. Many of these individuals and families have no course of action against their landlords who refuse to correct critical health and safety violations.
During the recent COVID 19 pandemic, Michael Stegman of Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies posited that economic pain “presents an opportunity to reconsider how the economy works and whether it can work better for people.” That sentiment rings true today just as much as it did five years ago.
And according to Stegman, the way we think about housing must evolve.
This piece of law (along with its subsections) establishes that property owners are accountable when a building’s condition is deemed substandard, and it allows a court-appointed receiver to obtain control of the property and take necessary steps to abate violations.
Health and safety receivers routinely rehabilitate single family homes, but a quick read of the applicable code shows that it was likely drafted with “slumlord”-owned apartments in mind.
These receivers are given the authority to:
Take full and complete control of the substandard property
Manage the building
Pay expenses of operation
Collect rent
Use any income to rehabilitate the property
Obtain a loan secured by the property, if the property doesn’t generate enough income to pay for the costs of receivership.
For substandard apartment buildings, receivers are most concerned with the protection of tenants who have suffered at the hands of neglectful property owners. If the condition of the property or the nature of repairs are such that residents must relocate, the receiver has the authority to pay relocation benefits at the owner’s expense.
But it’s not always easy -- receivers working on slum-like apartment buildings are often forced to grapple with real socioeconomic concerns. Often the tenants only live in such dangerous buildings because they are unable to afford other housing in the area. Forced relocation to a cleaner, safer environment may cause significant upheaval in the tenant’s life.
In these situations, the receiver should work hand-in-hand with the city municipality. While a receiver is able to provide financial relocation assistance, a city often has an array of programs for low income and at-risk residents to further assist.
California, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado are examples of states in the western region with statutes that allow for the appointment of a receiver when a city or county has exhausted its resources in an attempt to gain compliance from property owners and landlords.
Griswold Receivers has a wealth of experience in operating and rehabilitating substandard apartment buildings. Our team has been appointed throughout the region to take control of distressed buildings and bring them back into compliance.
For more information or to discuss a problem property in your area, contact us today.