LETTER: COVID rental relief programs not working for Nevada landlords

In theory the plan was a good one. Those who had lost income during the pandemic and could not pay their rent could not be evicted for non-payment. This prevented homelessness and the spread of COVID. A fund was established to allow for tenants to file for rental assistance and to allow for landlords to recover losses. Gov. Steve Sisolak held a press conference to present details of his plan.

Unfortunately, the plan is in disarray. Nevada is doing a terrible job of processing claims and distributing funds, even to the extent that the federal government is threatening to cancel the program. That must not happen. In addition, mom-and-pop landlords who through no fault of their own have suffered losses are being told that they will receive nothing if the tenant’s request for assistance is denied or if the tenants are simply uncooperative. Nothing could be more unfair. The ludicrous suggestion by the state is to take the tenants to court, knowing that is not a viable solution because many are nowhere to be found and have no resources to honor a judgement by the court.

The program remains at risk and is extremely unfair to those who have been hurt the most. It is now the responsibility of our elected officials to step forward and fix this mess before it is too late. With no corrective action, this could be the greatest confiscation of private property in the history of our country. And voters will long remember.