CM Santosuosso questions tenant remediation and eviction proceedings
Santosuosso asks about a 94-year-old tenant reportedly in L&T court. Morajanis says they searched but couldn't find the person, and would never evict an elderly tenant. Santosuosso then asks about approximately 100 eviction filings in 2025. Morajanis explains L&T court is used as a collection tool, not for displacement, and most tenants remain after obtaining payment stipulations or agency assistance.
Morgan, if there were existing tenants that had conditions that they wanted to be rectified and my office was made aware of them,
I'm confident that you would be able to respond and remediate those issues, right?
Of course, Kelly.
And you had mentioned the last time we spoke that there was an elderly person, 94 years old, that was in L&T court.
You know, we looked up the apartment that you gave us, and we combed the building for the name that you gave us.
We couldn't find that person.
But I had assured you if there was someone like that, firstly, being elderly, you're a protected class.
We would not take a 94-year-old person and evict them.
That would not happen.
And I told you, if it came to the point that they needed to pay, I would pay their rent.
It just won't happen.
It won't happen.
People don't get evicted in our building.
We don't evict people with families.
Usually what happens if they're on legal action for nonpayment, they'll end up leaving on their own.
Evictions are rare.
Okay.
That being said, there were...
There were eviction proceedings filed last year.
Is the idea, I mean, there were a fair amount of them, I think.
I think they were somewhere close to 100.
Well, the filing of legal actions is a collection tool.
When people fall behind on their rent because they somehow don't pay them for whatever the reason is, we take them to L&T court and we get court stipulations to have them pay.
And we wait for the intervention of an agency to come and help them, give them a one-shot deal from the Department of Social Services or other social agencies that may intervene and pay their rent.
So they won't have this burden of owing rent and having these notices.
We need to collect rent because if we don't, then we can't service the building properly.
So that's something that we have to do.
We use L&T Court as a collection tool, not as a way.
To displace tenants.
Understood.
And so it's your testimony that, you know, these evictions that were filed last year, which would have been 2025, were largely
essentially, you know, legal tools used in order to collect on potentially vouchers or one-shot deals, et cetera, and that most of these tenants actually remained in the building.
Exactly.
Council member, if you could wrap up your questions.
Thank you, Chair.
I just have one more question.