California, Evictions, rent, economy, foreclosures, protest
© AFP via Getty ImagesLos Angeles' moratorium states that residents who are not able to pay rent due to the pandemic cannot be evicted for at least 12 months after the local emergency period expires
A building management company has sued the City of Los Angeles for $100 million claiming they have lost $20 million in unpaid rent due to the eviction moratorium and predict their losses will triple before the ban ends.

The suit was filed by GHP Management Corp, which is owned by real estate developer Geoffrey Palmer.

GHP claimed that the 12 buildings under its management have experienced a combined loss of $20million in unpaid rental income as a result of the COVID-19 eviction moratorium, which stops landlords kicking out tenants.

GHP Associates owns more than 15,000 apartments in Los Angeles.

The suit is in reference to the city's moratorium, which is in effect until further notice and is tied to Mayor Eric Garcetti's emergency proclamation from March 2020.

A separate temporary eviction moratorium for the wider Los Angeles County is set to expire September 30.

Biden Administration last week extended a federal eviction moratorium until October 3 under political pressure from House Democrats and activists.

The moratoriums are meant to protect renters during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The LA City moratorium states that residents who are not able to pay rent due to the pandemic cannot be evicted for at least 12 months after the local emergency period expires.

GHP Management Geoffrey Palmer
© Getty Images for LACMAGHP Management Corp., owned by real estate developer Geoffrey Palmer, (pictured) said that they are expecting the losses to triple before the moratorium expires
The suit argues that the moratorium, which was approved as an ordinance by the City Council, violated the 'takings clause' established in the 5th Amendment, which says private property shall not be taken for public use without 'just compensation,' the Los Angeles Times reported.

'While the eviction moratorium ostensibly protects tenants who are unable to pay rent due to circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic, it arbitrarily shifts the financial burden onto property owners, many of whom were already suffering financial hardship as a result of the pandemic and have no equivalent remedy at law,' the lawsuit stated.

City Attorney Mike Feuer defended the moratorium, telling the LA Times that his office wrote a 'lawful ordinance' that has kept tenants from becoming homeless during the pandemic.

'We defeated a previous attack on these crucial protections and will vigorously defend the ordinance again,' he said.

Landlords in Los Angeles are eligible to receive rent relief for back rent owed by tenants who couldn't pay due to the pandemic, Fox 11 News reported.

The city has already received 113,000 applications and has about $235 million to distribute, with another $260 million expected, but at the current pace, the program is not expected to complete payments for 18 months, Fox 11 reported.

Last week, groups representing landlords filed suit in federal court Wednesday - claiming the latest extension of the Biden administration's eviction moratorium is 'unlawful.'

The landlord groups asked a U.S. judge in Washington to immediately lift the new eviction moratorium that was put in place last Tuesday by the CDC, saying the new order was 'unlawful.'

The suspension of evictions was first imposed by the Trump administration at the start of the coronavirus pandemic and was set to end July 31, but then it was extended another 60 days by the Biden administration.

The new 60-day ban protects millions of renters from eviction and covers counties with substantial or high COVID-19 transmission rates.

This comes as many landlords across the country are reaching their breaking point after claiming they have not been getting income for months due to moratoriums.

Property owners have criticized the moratorium, saying it penalizes those who must pay mortgages whether or not their tenants pay them.

Last week North Carolina landlord Buddy Shoup said he was out $24,000 in unpaid rent from his tenants, including one who splurged on three boats and requested a $4,500 heat pump during the pandemic.

'The guy didn't pay me rent and was evidently getting money from somewhere and he had three boats.

'Well, lo and behold, the middle of the summer their air conditioner went out. So I had to put about a $4,500 heat pump on that house to make sure that they stayed cool and I didn't receive any rent or anything so it goes way beyond the loss of rental income. We're still bound by county laws and rules, and we need to maintain the property,' he said In an interview with Fox and Friends.

Tensions have risen so much that on Tuesday a Las Vegas landlord allegedly shot two of this tenants dead and left another in a critical condition with nine gunshot wounds after arguing with them over unpaid rent, police said.

The suspect, a man in his late 70s, then had a standoff with police before he was arrested on Tuesday.

Lt. Ray Spencer, of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, said the dispute began over unpaid rent.

'We don´t know the specifics, but information from witnesses is that it´s all over money not paid for their portion of the rent,' Spencer told The Associated Press.