Cleveland Property Management in the time of Corona Virus
Aside from the health ramifications, and the hardships for many who find themselves suddenly out of work as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic, the crisis is creating considerable concerns for Cleveland property managers and Cleveland landlords alike.
Here in Ohio, real estate agents and property managers have been considered “essential services”, and as such we have been able to continue servicing our properties.
As the news of lockdown began to spread in late March, it became obvious that many tenants would find themselves out of work. Unfortunately, while the need to pay rent on April 1, 2020 was cited as a primary justification for the $1200 per person stimulus payments, there was no requirement that tenants use the stimulus money to actually pay rents. Some tenants were quick to declare a rent holiday.
To make matters worse, as the state of Ohio and Cleveland Housing courts issued moratoriums on all evictions, the media did its best to get the word out to tenant that they could not be removed from their house, even if they did not pay the rent. Here in northeastern Ohio, Mona Scott is not allowing eviction hearings to be scheduled until around June 15th, and will further delay actual move-out for non payment. As far as we can tell, the tenant will not need to prove that their inability to pay was caused by pandemic related loss of income.
Interestingly, we are finding that effective tenant screening and background checks for all tenants has landed Remax Trinity Property Management with a tenant base that for the most part has paid April and May rents.
To encourage rent payments, we have maintained open communications with our tenants on a regular basis long before this current crisis. After the crisis hit, we initiated some policies to build good will. First, Director of Property Management sent out a letter asking tenants to let us know if any loss of income related to Corona Virus. We let tenants know that for April and May, we would waive all late fees. Moreover, we allowed tenants to “borrow” from their security deposits to pay the rent, so long as they were in good standing prior to the shutdown. To encourage tenants to use their stimulus checks to pay their rent, we offered a 10% discount to tenants that were struggling.
Another noticeable outcome resulting from stay at home orders in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County is that tenants living in multi-family units seem to be fighting with each other. There are more complaints to the property managers about “the other tenant” is not cleaning up dog poop, the other tenant’s boyfriend is blocking the driveway, the other tenant is leaving trash all around, and the other tenants are not being nice. Tenants are behaving like children and expect the property management company to settle these types of disputes.
In cases where we need to show units either for rent, or to sell the property; we are finding tenants even less cooperative than normal. They “have rights” and do not want to allow showings. They do not want to allow inspectors or appraisers or even maintenance technicians in to do their jobs.
Following is a summary of housing court status throughout Cuyahoga County and northeastern Ohio.
1. Akron – eviction hearings are beginning June 1, 2020 (masks are mandatory and Zoom eviction hearing can be requested);
2. Bedford – eviction hearings are being held, and move-outs are scheduled on case by case basis;
3. Berea – eviction hearings are being held;
4. Chardon – eviction hearings are being held on a case by case basis, but move-out are being extended;
5. Cleveland – new filings will be accepted and eviction hearings are beginning on June 15, 2020, and move-out are suspended until further notice;
6. Cleveland Heights – eviction hearings and move-outs are suspended until further notice;
7. East Cleveland – eviction hearings are being held and move-outs are proceeding;
8. Elyria – eviction hearings are being set sixty (60) days from the date of filing, and move-outs are suspended until further notice;
9. Euclid – eviction hearings and move-outs are suspended until further notice;
10. Garfield Heights – eviction hearings and move-outs are suspended until further notice;
11. Lakewood – eviction hearings and move-outs are suspended until further notice;
12. Massillon – eviction hearings have been continued sixty (60) days from the date of filing;
13. Medina – new eviction hearings are being set from thirty (30) days from the date of filing (security check in with mandatory screening and masks);
14. Mentor - eviction hearings are not being set until July 2020, and move-outs are suspended until further notice;
15. Painesville – eviction hearings are not being set until July 2020, and move-outs are suspended until further notice;
16. Parma – eviction hearings are being held, and move-out are suspended until further notice;
17. Rocky River – eviction hearings are being scheduled for June, and move-outs are suspended until further notice;
18. Shaker Heights – eviction hearings are being held, and move-outs are proceeding;
19. South Euclid – eviction hearings and move-outs are suspended until further notice;
20. Stow – eviction hearings are presently being set for June, and move-outs are expected to proceed;
21. Willoughby – eviction hearings are being held, and move-outs are going forward.
We will continue to provide updates as we hear more housing court status changes from our housing court attorneys or the courts themselves.
