Current Policy Makes It Harder To Evict In Rhode Island

Abstract

ACTION NEEDED: R.I. LANDLORDS SHOULD BE ABLE TO RECOUP EVICTION COSTS AGAIN COVID RELATED ADJUSTMENT OUTDATED AND CREATING COSTLY IMBALANCE HOW WE GOT WHERE WE ARE Does it seem all that long ago that the Covid outbreak spread to the U.S. and interrupted our lives? As early as January 1, 2020 it was confirmed that the disease was spread from person to person and soon after governments across the globe were left to figure out how to keep people away from large gatherings without destroying their economy. Along with drastic drops in mortality and hospitalization, unemployment rates are lower than ever and opportunities to work are abundantso why is there a Covid-era holdover in rental property policy that is causing significant headaches for property owners in the Ocean State? LEARN MORE: HOW REMOTE WORK IS IMPACTING YOUR BOTTOM LINE AS A PROPERTY OWNER THE CURRENT EVICTION COST PROBLEM: ASYMMETRY Now that the eviction moratorium is over, the regular process for tenant payment and eviction has returnedfor the most part. The one glaring issue that our clients continue to run into centers around recouping eviction costs from tenants again. On average, evictions in Rhode Island cost between $500 and $600. Prior to Covid, tenants could be charged up to $435 to cover those legal fees, which makes sense as the tenant's inactions are the cause for the court appearance. LEARN MORE: WHICH TYPE OF LANDLORD ARE YOU-DON'T BE A SLUMLORD!!! EVICTIONS ARE NECESSARY Let's be direct: no one wants a tenancy to end in eviction. For property owners, evictions are not pleasant either. Post pandemic, there is no doubt there are steps that could be taken to make things better for tenants who live in poorly managed and maintained apartments, but misplacement of the costs of eviction is not one of them.