SAN DIEGO — With many people still out of work and the eviction moratorium in place, tenants in San Diego are still able to keep a roof over their heads during the pandemic.
"I think there's a misconception that property owners or apartment owners want rich ... that is very much not the case," said Bob Weinberger, owner of RJW properties.
RJW property management company oversees about 50 apartment complexes all around San Diego. Weinberger and his employee Anna Amano have seen a drastic decrease in revenue since the pandemic started.
Because property management companies like RWJ are frustrated with the lack of income, they’ve turned to the Emergency Rental Assistance Program.
If eligible, the county will compensate 80% of tenant's rent, the remaining 20% would have to be forgiven by the landlord. Which Bob and Anna say is better than nothing, the problem is that not everyone in their buildings, is signing up for the program.
"We're compassionate about the situation and help as much as we can, but we're also trying to do our job. So it presents a real problem for us," said Weinberger. "Many of the tenants are apathetic about even applying for it. We're doing a tremendous amount of work here in the office and pulling our hair out, trying to get all this information together and submit it."
This leaves RJW with a huge hole in their books. An uneven amount of money coming in from the county that doesn’t cover their expenses.
Right now the temporary moratorium on evictions in the State of California has no end date but when it does tenants must pay at least 25% of what they owe in rent to their landlords. But until that time Weinberger would like to see better communication from the housing commission and more assistance for his company.
"I know many organizations and businesses have been hurt during the pandemic for sure," said Weinberger. "But property management really kind of feels picked on, as you're taking money out of the mouth of owners who have saved for 20 years to buy a 12 unit apartment building for retirement."
WATCH RELATED: San Diego County's eviction moratorium takes effect June 3, 2021