You just found out that a resident tested positive for COVID-19. You can’t get into fair housing trouble if you notify all the residents on her floor about it so they can take extra precautions to avoid exposure. True or false?

 

Question:  Our county has entered Phase 2 of the reopening procedures for COVID-19.  While we have kept the park restrooms, showers and laundry room open during the state-wide shutdown, we have kept other park facilities closed.  We are still reluctant to open our swimming pool, small indoor rec center, and playground.  What are we required to open and how do we safely do it?

 

Question: We have a resident who has expressed displeasure over finding political  & religious pamphlets, etc., left in the clubhouse.  Not wanting to cater to the complaining resident, but also not wanting to offend others or place the park in a bad position, what is the safest legal way to deal with this issue?

 

 

 

Question:  Our manager is having difficulties with troublesome residents who are interfering with his efforts to fill spaces. In one case it is a vacant mobile home the manager is showing, but the neighbor is mean/obnoxious and does not want the home purchased. In the other case we have an empty RV pad and another neighbor comes out scaring away the RV owner who wants to rent the space. What are our legal rights regarding these two neighbors?

 

 

Question. There is a lot of misinformation floating around about the Multnomah County/City of Portland Moratorium regarding COVID-related loss of income by residents. What is the straight story?

 

Question 1 

The law and MHCO ocupancy agreement both state that a landlord can screen an occupant for conduct or criminal history but not for credit history or income level.  If after screening a temporary occupant, the findings reveal that they have civil case(s) and/or eviction matters relating to previous rental history where the derogatory rental reference is financial (not necessarily bad personal conduct). Can this be grounds for denial? 

 

Answer 1

Not in my opinion.  The temporary occupant agreement concept is that the person is notgoing to be a “co-renter”. They are being permitted to come onto the space as an accommodation by the landlord to the current resident who wants them there.  If they are to become a temporary occupant, but your background check inadvertently reveals derogatory references related to financial information, and that concerns you, then limit the amount of time they can remain there, and take things a month, or six months, at a time.  You might consider having tenants fill out a form in advanceexplaining exactly why they want the temporary occupant there. If a tenant wants them there to share the rental obligation then you should know that beforeoffering the temporary occupant status.  If that is the case, then have them apply as a tenant.  If they don’t pass the financial background check, then reject them on that basis.       

 

By:

Jeffrey S. Bennett, Attorney at Law
Warren Allen, LLP

 

A Historical Perspective

 

For many years, landlords and tenants alike have been asking for Leases that provide long term stability and predictable expectations. When compared to month-to-month tenancies or commonly used fixed term Leases (e.g., one or two year Leases), long term Leases fulfill those objectives while providing the parties with some much desired peace of mind.

 

Long term Leases have been in use in California and other states for many years. More recently, a small handful of Oregon park owners began offering long term leasing opportunities to tenants. The reported responses to those leasing opportunities have been overwhelmingly favorable.

 

This month at Manufactured Housing Communities of Oregon (MHCO), we look at how to avoid fair housing trouble while dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. For months now, the nation has been confronting the public health emergency caused by the new coronavirus. By April, all 50 states had reported cases of COVID-19 to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), though different parts of the country experienced different levels of COVID-19 activity. According to the CDC, U.S. COVID-19 cases include:

• People who were infected while traveling, before returning to the United States;
• People who were infected after having close contact with someone known to be infected with the virus; and
• People who were infected but don’t know how or where they were infected.

 

Question.I have a question about the Pet form. The term “assistance”  animal is used throughout. We are  in a disagreement with HUD over a comfort animal versus a “service” animal.  (one state document does use the term assistance and classes that as service in a footnote)  

 

Our defense is that the terms are very specific in the laws, or agency guidelines, both state and federal.   A landlord is specifically released from any responsibility to accept any animal that is not certified as “service.” HUD says they are not bound by another agency’s rules. Isn’t it important for our forms to be specific by using the term “service?”.

 

 

 

Question:  We have residents in our RV park who seem to be blatantly violating the governor’s COVID-19 emergency stay-at-home order.  Some residents have outside family members or guests come by regularly, while a few other residents get together on their spaces to just “hang out” in the evenings. This has caused some concern in the park, so what can or should we do?