How is California's rental housing assistance program progressing? At a snail's pace, we observe in our first-ever podcast episode. Under Senate Bill 91, landlords may be able to recoup a mountain of rent debt, but how is the machinery working so far? Daniel gives his assessment in this podcast.

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Biden looks to roll back gains on 1031 exchanges We make our case against the ill-conceived measure in our latest article. Read on

New legislation will require landlords to offer tenants the opportunity to have their rental history reported to the credit bureaus

Our takes

From the desk of Daniel Bornstein

After a mountain of COVID-related rent debt has accrued, many in our community feel disappointed and deflated because California’s rental assistance program is not firing on all cylinders. I take a few minutes to feel the pain of landlords who are patiently waiting for a check that never comes in our recent podcast. Hopefully, we can report better news in the near future.  1031 exchanges have been a tremendous wealth-building tool but the Biden administration is looking to tinker with these tax deferring vehicles. While a proposal looks to target big investors, the measure would in fact have a far-reaching impact that hurts many aspiring homeowners, small investors, and other innocent bystanders, as well as aggravates our housing crisis. We make our case for leaving well enough alone in this article.  Unsuspecting landlords have been cast into the role of educators, social workers, and soon credit counselors under a bill set to take effect in July. While we are hard-pressed to argue against the upward mobility that low-income tenants can enjoy by having rent payments reported to the credit bureaus and always celebrate the success of renters, we do have some reservations with the law as written. We express them here.  Thank you to our clientele, industry and referral partners, and colleagues for your continued engagement and we hope to stay in touch as we emerge stronger on the other side of the pandemic. It remains tough terrain but all indications are we will return to a state of normalcy in managing landlord-tenant relationships soon and of course, Bornstein Law is ready and able to handle any bumps in the road until then.  Please remain in the best of health and spirits as we power through your real estate challenges.

Other items on our radar

San Francisco lawmakers look to extend the moratorium on no-fault evictions. The Governor has many problems, but his torrent of executive orders, including the halting of evictions, is not one of them. An appellate court reverses a lower court's decision, says he acted within his authority by using emergency powers. The U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey results are in and it reveals a great deal of anxiety among renters. What often goes ignored in these discussions and doomsday predictions is that there will not be an eviction cliff if only because an inundated court system will not be able to efficiently handle the volume of cases that will be brought.

The funds from a tax increase on high-end property transfers were supposed to go towards SF rent relief, including small property owners, but the Mayor threatens to block funds, divert them elsewhere. We noticed on Supervisor Dean Preston's Twitter feed that there is a petition circulating around to demand the money goes to its intended purpose of rent relief and affordable housing. Whether through legislation or executive fiat, there is little appetite to extend the eviction moratorium past June 30th, but some tenants' advocates, of course, want the eviction ban to last forever. We don't see that happening but predict that there will be some cushions to protect renters, as well there should be. The key question is what is reasonable?

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