Eviction avoidance topic of bar association plan

The Lorain County Bar Association is hosting a landlordtenant Eviction Avoidance Facilitation program.

The Lorain County Bar Association is hosting a landlord-tenant Eviction Avoidance Facilitation Program March 18.

The program addresses the coming onslaught of evictions that will follow the end of the federal government’s eviction ban, which is set to end March 31, according to a news release from the County Bar Association.

“We foresee a tsunami of evictions when the ban ends, adding to a backlog of eviction cases already filed, but stalled by the federal government’s action,” attorney Zachary Simonoff, chair of the Lorain County Bar Association’s real estate section, said in a news release.

The unprecedented economic disaster caused by novel coronavirus pandemic measures has caused hardship for many renters, Simonoff said.

Some could not pay all their bills, and the federal ban enabled them to put off paying rent, which makes up the largest part of most renters’ budgets, he said.

But, the ban was only a temporary measure, and landlords continued to face the costs of mortgages, maintenance and taxes.

Barring a solution, Simonoff said there will be thousands of evictions leading to thousands of useless, uncollectible judgments against ordinarily unrepresented tenants.

“There will be hundreds of landlords who have wasted thousands of dollars in attorney and court fees in pursuit of these judgments,” Simonoff said. “The courts will be overwhelmed.”

The Eviction Avoidance Facilitation Program will try to mitigate these effects before they begin, Simonoff said.

First, there will be online Landlord Tenant Information Seminar for landlords and tenants, conveying neutral information about the problem and how the Eviction Avoidance Facilitation Program can help, he said.

The program is voluntary, but the resulting agreement between the parties is enforceable, said attorney Doug Henry, a member of the Mediation Ad Hoc committee.

It is hoped that the information seminar will help landlords and tenants avoid using the courts for eviction — and that a path can be found to keep tenants in their present homes — and for landlords to keep a paying tenant, the release said.

Second, the County Bar Association is working with area nonprofits whose programs may provide assistance to tenants.

Additionally, the County Bar Association is partnering with the local municipal courts to refer evictions to this program, the release said.

Finally, for those cases that do go to court, Lorain County municipal will work to accommodate landlords and tenants who wish to mediate their eviction suits, the release said.

This program may be the fastest way for a landlord and tenant to recover from COVID, because the courts are going to be absolutely clogged with eviction cases,” said Jeannie Motylewski, executive director of the Lorain County Bar Association.