News Alert: Cudahy Passes New Eviction Threshold
News Alert:
Cudahy Passes New Eviction Threshold
By Janet M. Gagnon
Chief Corporate Affairs Officer & SVP Government Affairs
On October 7th, the Cudahy City Council passed a new eviction threshold ordinance on a vote of 4-to-0 with one abstention by Council Member Martin Fuentes. The new ordinance will restrict evictions to amounts that are in excess of Fair Market Rent (FMR) as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The ordinance went into effect immediately as an “urgency ordinance”.
In addition, the new ordinance defines what it means for a “material term” of the lease to be violated. It limits such material terms to: 1) refusal to surrender possession after proper notice, 2) violation of occupancy limits, and 3) violation of a new term of the tenancy. Any new terms in tenancy cannot be made unilaterally by the property owner but must be consented to by the renter in writing unless the change is required by law.
The City’s staff provided no data on the number of evictions taking place in Cudahy, the dollar amount owed in non-payment eviction cases, nor the number of rental housing providers filing eviction lawsuits. Instead, the City Council passed this threshold merely on “feelings” without any facts to support their actions. This is the worst type of governance and wrongly judges all housing providers as guilty of misdeeds without any actual evidence.
In addition, staff provided no information on how many renters, if any, would benefit from this new restriction. In fact, it will likely cause some renters to get into an even deeper financial hole as they accumulate more unpaid rent debt that will damage their credit history, making it more difficult to find housing in the future and/or new employment.
AAGLA aggressively opposed this eviction threshold ordinance by providing formal written comments and conducting lobbying efforts prior to the meeting as well as providing in-person oral testimony at the meeting. Unfortunately, AAGLA was the only rental housing organization and business organization to show up to the meeting to speak against the ordinance.
In addition, no housing providers showed up to speak against the motion. Without local housing providers actively participating in opposing harmful new ordinances, it will continue to be impossible to stop additional restrictions from being passed by the Cudahy City Council. To win in Cudahy requires both AAGLA and local housing providers to voice their strong opposition in order to change the minds of City Council members and win!
We urge our members in Cudahy to review the new ordinance and seek individual legal counsel on it. We also urge our members to stay informed and actively participate when AAGLA reaches out on these important issues.
This article is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions regarding your property or specific leasing issues and the requirements of any legal changes described herein, please consult with an attorney.