Tenant Evictions Set to Rise in 2023

With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, government at all levels sought to ensure public safety.  At the outset, decisions based on available information led to many restrictive measures, including lockdowns or stay-at-home orders.  An offshoot was also many restrictions on a landlord’s ability to evict a tenant.  Slowly, those measures have been lifted over time and we are now returning to the pre-pandemic rules…mostly.

California’s Tenant Eviction Moratoria

California (and some of its counties) had some of the most restrictive rules for landlords, especially for residential tenants.  These eviction moratoria are now coming to an end.  In particular, Los Angeles and Alameda Counties are the latest to announce end dates for the moratoria, meaning after this date landlords can once again follow court procedures to evict tenants. Los Angeles County’s pandemic eviction moratorium is set to expire at the end of March.  Alameda County’s eviction moratorium is set to expire at the end of April.

Commercial Tenant Evictions

While most commercial evictions and a small subset of residential evictions were allowed during the last three years, most residential evictions were forbidden.  Even some tenants who have paid no rent were allowed to continue to live in the property.  With the lifting of the eviction moratoria, we expect the number of evictions to dramatically increase.  California is opening floodgates at reservoirs to let some of the recent rains flow.  The lifting of the eviction moratoria is opening a different kind of floodgate.

Eviction Backlog

We expect the backlog of evictions to be very great.  At the same time, there are still shortages of resources to deal with these evictions: court staff shortages, county sheriff staff shortages, financial distress on the system, etc.  It will take concerted effort from landlords to work through the system and take a case to conclusion.

Legal Assistance for Landlords

If you are a landlord looking to regain possession of your property, mitigate losses or collect back due rent, reach out to our experienced team at Cirrus Law PC for assistance.  We have more than 25 years of experience helping landlords, owners, and managers protect their interests. Our attorneys assist clients in all commercial real estate and eviction matters. Contact a member of our team by calling (925) 463-1073. You can also get in touch by completing an online contact form.