LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — “A seven-day notice to pay rent or quit”. That’s what one woman saw taped to her door at her apartment complex last week. This comes as the CDC eviction moratorium remains in effect until the end of the year.
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Patti Balian has called the Positano Apartments home for the last five years. The pandemic caused her to lose her job making it tough for her to make rent. Now, she’s being served an eviction notice.
“I’ve been a perfect tenant, a senior. I have disabilities,” she said.
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It came after she gave a CDC declaration letter last month to her management in order to be covered under the federal eviction moratorium. Balian says they tried negotiating before but couldn’t come to an agreement. She couldn’t believe her complex still went through with a notice.
“I didn’t have any unemployment coming in. They came to me and said, we’ll forgive you two months’ rent, if you sign this paper, to notice to vacate and leave in ten days,” she said.
The property management says it has received the CDC declaration letter from other tenants and is honoring them and working with them. They are challenging Balian’s letter saying they don’t think she made her “best-effort” at trying to pay rent, saying she could have made payments while receiving unemployment benefits. Balian disputes the accusation saying getting rental assistance has been difficult.
“What it says is, I made my best effort. Making my best effort to get rental assistance has been near unbearable,” she said.
Taylor Altman, an attorney with the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada says the eviction process will head to court where tenants can defend themselves.
“At the hearing, the tenant can provide documentation supporting those criteria and the fact that they used best efforts,” she said.
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Altman says it’s important for tenants to make copies of their declaration letter.
“Keep proof of how it was served, so that way if the landlord does go forward with eviction, if they have to file an answer, they can file the CDC declaration form and proof of service with the court.”
She says a person can’t be evicted for non-payment of rent during the moratorium but says it eventually needs to be paid somehow.
“It’s not a waiver of rent. Back rent is still going to be owed. The tenant and the landlord can come to some resolution regarding the payment of the back rent," she said.
The CDC eviction moratorium is set to last for the rest of the year.
