We all know about the upcoming presidential election, but did you know about the slew of propositions on the ballot awaiting voters’ decisions? Proposition 19 is one of major importance to the real estate industry. In discussing Proposition 19, it is crucial to understand that any time real property is transferred from one party to […]
Category: Legal Corner
CAR: Notice of Intent of COVID-19 Relief Act of 2020
As you may remember from our previous blog regarding the Tenant Relief Act of 2020, if a tenant has missed a rent payment between March 2020 and August 2020, a landlord is required to serve a notice on the tenant. The notice requires them to pay within 15 days or submit a declaration stating they […]
What is the Balcony Law?
On June 16, 2015, tragedy struck in Berkley California. At an apartment near the U.C. Berkeley campus, several students were congregating on a balcony when it collapsed. The accident resulted in the death of six students and injury to seven others. After an investigation, it was determined that the balcony fell because of dry rot […]
COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act of 2020
Over the past six months, there has been a flurry of different eviction moratoriums enacted by cities, counties, and even the State of California. The different local orders created a complicated framework, usually requiring an attorney to decipher which rule applied to each rental. On Monday, August 31st, Governor Newsom signed the COVID-19 Tenant Relief […]
California Judicial Council Votes to End Prohibition on Evictions
On August 13, 2020, the California Judicial Council voted 19-1 to end its prohibition on evictions. This blog serves as an update to the June 17th blog I penned: Updated Emergency Order. Beginning September 2, 2020, formal evictions can proceed through the judicial process. It’s important to keep in mind county and local eviction moratoriums […]
Updated Emergency Order Regarding Unlawful Detainer Actions
We have received a lot of questions about the state of unlawful detainer (evictions) proceedings in California. A previous blog addressed Governor Newsom’s order about bringing post-COVID-19 unlawful detainer actions. That post described the order as setting a minimum standard for commencing unlawful detainer actions. It also stated that stricter measures could be imposed by […]
The Intricacies of the Force Majeure Clause During this Pandemic
Before COVID-19 hit, most people couldn’t tell you the definition of a force majeure clause. Simply put, a force majeure clause excuses a party from performing under a contract, if their performance becomes implausible or impractical, because of some unforeseen or unanticipated event. These uncontrollable events are also known as “Acts of God”. Parties often […]
Hosting Open Houses in the Midst of Coronavirus
The Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has caused Realtors to quickly pivot and adapt the way they do business. Specifically, agents have been forced to rethink how they show real estate. Showings were halted after the issuance of Governor Newsom’s March 20, 2020, stay at home order – sending the real estate industry into a tailspin. The […]
UNDERSTANDING THE CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTOR’S “CORONAVIRUS ADDENDUM OR AMENDMENT” AND “NOTICE OF UNFORESEEN CORONAVIRUS CIRCUMSTANCES”
With the beginning of another week living “Safer at Home”, the California Association of Realtors (“CAR”) released the “Coronavirus Addendum or Amendment” (CVA). This is an update to the Coronavirus Addendum/Amendment released last week. CAR also released a companion document entitled “Notice of Unforeseen Coronavirus Circumstances” (“NUCC”). Recently, we discussed the CVA and addressed its […]
UNDERSTANDING THE CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTOR’S “CORONAVIRUS ADDENDUM”
Over the course of the last two weeks, our lives have drastically changed. The emergence of the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic has created uncertainty in the economy not seen in years. It was inevitable that this uncertainty would present itself in the real estate industry. Like most brokerages, we have seen our share of listings canceled, […]