Portage county law firm, local courts determined to resolve eviction issues caused by COVID-19
As COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc, people not only fear for their health, but they also may not have a place to live due to the continuance of eviction hearings in the Portage County municipal court.
Community Legal Aid, a nonprofit law firm that serves the low-income and the elderly community for civil legal matters, provides its services to 8 different counties around Ohio which include: Summit, Medina, Portage, Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana, Stark and Wayne. And of those 8 counties, Portage and Medina are handling the most conviction cases according to John Petit, the managing attorney for housing and consumer programs at Community Legal Aid.
The 8 different Ohio counties that Community Legal Aid serves
According to reports, there have been 17 eviction cases and counting that have been placed on the Portage County docket in the month of April. Judge Poland said while some evictions are being handled normally, magistrate judges are working “on a case-by-case basis to try to get through this.”
“Every case is different. You cannot make any assumptions. And, you cannot be like ‘alright, this is the way it’s going to be handled,’” he said.
According to Judge Poland, the courts are working to limit the traffic coming into the courtroom. For example, local magistrate judges are granting tenants temporary continuances.
“Portage has made some efforts to cut back their dockets and try to be flexible with hearings,” Petit said in a phone interview.
Judge Poland pointed out that the courts are cooperating with landlords and tenants to “accommodate the parties as best as possible and try to get the parties to work together as best as possible.”
At the beginning of April, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine made an executive order requesting that the Supreme Court provide guidance to local courts to temporarily continue eviction filings, pending eviction proceedings, scheduled move-outs and the execution of foreclosure judgements. Petit said that it had little effects on Ohio eviction laws but essentially ordered the Supreme Court to allow the lower courts to not strictly abide by the typical time frame of eviction cases.
A hypothetical scenario of how a typical eviction case is settled in the municipal court in Ohio (Source)
According to Petit, he and his legal team are using a bench card that outlines how federal lawmakers have adjusted eviction laws and what qualifies residents to be eligible for the temporary moratorium for eviction proceedings.
Effective as of March 27, under section 4024 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, it does not allow landlords to do the following: evicting for nonpayment of rent, issuing a notice to vacate, and charging late fees until July 25. After July 25, 30 days’ notice to vacate is required. So, tenants who live in federally subsidized housing do not have to face eviction during this timeframe. And, landlords who own property that has federally-backed mortgages do not have to face foreclosure at this timeframe as well.
Despite residents worried about their current eviction issues, Judge Poland expressed that his deepest concern is the aftermath of this pandemic in the months of June and July “as a result of being laid off in March and April.”
In a newsletter made by Bill Faith, the executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO), he stated that “nearly 400,000 Ohio households already paid over half of their income in rent before the pandemic, and now over 600,000 Ohio households have applied for unemployment compensation.” He stressed that stabilizing family housing can help stabilize the economy. He then speculated that more people will experience these hardships as this crisis continues. As a result, he recommended that the next coronavirus relief legislation provide $100 billion in emergency rental assistance.
Likewise, Petit suggested that Americans take full advantage of the CARES Act. The economic relief package contains over $2 trillion which acts as an emergency fund for those in financial despair.
“If the [local] courts would be open to a mediation of these cases to allow people to buy some time so they can access these emergency funds and re-enter payment plans with their landlords rather than facing the eviction hearing,” Petit said.
Currently, Petit and his legal team are attempting to reach out to the local Portage County BAR Association to see if the attorneys are willing to donate their time and act as mediators when resolutions between landlords and tenants are being discussed. Rather than landlords and tenants settling everything in court.
“A big effort would be to slow down the eviction cases to allow people to access resources and enter into repayment plans, get their jobs back so that they can begin paying the rent and not be out on the street,” Petit said.
