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Entitlements Are Just Like Crack Cocaine:
Once Injected, Good Luck Reversing Course
Eby Daniel Yukelson
Executive Director, Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles
ntitlements, which are often handed out freely by our various government agencies for often legitimate and well-meaning purposes can be very difficult to take away once recipients have received these benefits for protracted time periods. For some
of the entitlement beneficiaries, they struggle for years to free themselves, to improve their living situations, through education, training, and careers. For others, these entitlements can become addictive, like any narcotic or alcohol, and are often very difficult if ever to become once again free of the benefits of the “free stuff.”
I ask you – is this the situation housing providers are stuck in today? Have we now been forced into a corner of “free” rent or standard rent discounted by 20% vis-à-vis government intervention and eviction moratoriums? For more than a year, and seemingly with no end in sight, tenants have had the opportunity of free rent and my fear is that it will be difficult for many of them to be motivated to pay rent ever again!
As a write this, the State of California is on the precipice of extending the statewide eviction moratorium until September 30, 2021, while at the same time preempting local jurisdictions from further extending their moratoriums, but only until September 30th and then “all hell breaks loose.” Sadly, the State was unwilling to take action to preempt all local eviction moratoriums beyond September 30, 2021, and as a result, we as housing providers will be left to deal with a hodge-podge of varying eviction moratoriums and rule books to follow after September 30th and I am going to go out on a limb here, but it is my strong belief that that many local jurisdictions will surely extend local eviction moratoriums well into 2022 sometime. Anyone out there reading what I just wrote care to wager that I am wrong?
Our lovely Governor Newsom, facing a recall election, has expressed his desire to pay the 20% “gap” of outstanding rental debt and increase rental relief to cover to 100% of our tenants’ rental debt versus just the 80% covered under Senate Bill 91, which expired on June 30, 2021. We can only hope
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Daniel Yukelson is currently the Executive Director of The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA), Southern California’s for affordable, quality housing. As Certified Public Accountant, Yukelson began his career at Ernst & Young, the global accounting firm, and had served in senior financial roles principally as Chief Financial Officer for various public, private and start-up companies. Prior to joining AAGLA, Yukelson served for 15 years as Chief Financial Officer for both Premiere Radio Networks, now a subsidiary of I-Heart Media, and 3 years for Oasis West Realty, the owner of the Beverly Hilton and Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills where he was involved with the development and construction of the Waldorf.
APARTMENT MANAGEMENT MAGAZINE - AUGUST 2021 CS-29