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Pandora Papers reveal the former PM’s slick trick for avoiding £300K in taxes on his London townhouse

Tony Blair avoided property transfer tax on a £6.45 million townhouse. Can American buyers do the same? (Getty, iStock)

Last year, Americans bought $1 billion worth of whisky and $6.5 billion of vehicles from the UK. But this week’s Pandora Papers leak revealed another British export that might hook wealthy Americans: creative tax avoidance.

On Sunday, the Guardian reported that former Prime Minister Tony Blair dodged more than £300,000 in property transfer taxes when he and his wife purchased a £6.45 million London townhouse. Nothing they did was illegal: the couple simply exploited a loophole in British tax law that doesn’t levy stamp duties on business purchases the way it does real property acquisitions.

In 2017, the Blairs set up a British company and used it to acquire an LLC registered in the British Virgin Islands, which owned the townhouse. The Blairs then dissolved the BVI firm, bringing the property under their company’s control without ever technically purchasing the townhouse itself.

In the U.S., with its sea of shell companies and authorized signatories — and its rich tradition of tax avoidance — could an intrepid buyer pull a similar stunt?

“Can that be utilized here? It depends on what state,” said Chris Curtis, an attorney at Chaves Perlowitz Luftig who specializes in estate planning and trusts and frequently helps clients set up offshore companies for their assets. The structure is particularly popular for foreign buyers of American property, who receive much lower estate tax exemptions when they die than U.S. citizens do.

In New York, buying a controlling interest — 50 percent or more — in a property-owning company constitutes a real estate transfer. Even if the shares are acquired in separate transactions from different sellers — say, 25 percent in June and another 30 percent a year later — so long as the shares add up to a controlling interest, it’s transfer tax time. The state adds up all shares acquired within three years of one another.

A particularly shrewd buyer may set up separate LLCs and divvy up his shares between them, so that no one company owns a controlling interest. But still, under New York’s tax code, LLCs must disclose their owners. Even if the LLC is owned by another LLC, the disclosures must continue up the ladder until an actual, warm body is revealed.

As of April, REITs and publicly-traded companies who are members of an LLC no longer need to name their shareholders in this filing. It’s unclear whether that would allow such a multi-company workaround.

Even though Blair’s scheme wouldn’t pass legal muster in New York, that doesn’t mean it could never happen.

“It’s a ‘catch ‘em if you can’ mentality,” said Ross Levine, a founding partner at Schwartz Levine Stark. With anonymity so commonplace in New York property ownership, it’s ultimately up to the lawyers preparing the owner’s forms to ensure proper disclosure. That can get tricky when LLCs stack up like Russian nesting dolls.

Still, personal incentives might outweigh potential tax savings.

“Even if you have it layered, there could be a trace back to that person — if, of course, it’s papered,” said Levine, referring to a document such as an amended operating agreement, which would explicitly lay out what percentage of the company each shareholder owns. “But who the hell wouldn’t want that papered?” he said.

Even a fraudster would want proof of ownership when it comes to an asset as large as a building. “If you’re spending millions of dollars, you’re going to want a paper that shows you have an interest in that property,” said Levine.

Curtis and Levine agree that there’s nothing inherently wrong with stashing assets in LLCs. But there’s room for abuse.

“The system isn’t necessarily broken, but it does rely upon the fiduciaries to honor the tax code and do the right thing,” said Levine.

California’s system works largely the same as New York’s, triggering a property transfer tax when a person buys 50 percent or more of a property-owning LLC. It also leaves a similar onus on self-reporting, which means Blair’s scheme would be illegal, though not impossible, in the Golden State.

“It’s an honor system somewhat, because there’s no deed that’s filed when you buy an LLC. But you’re required to pay the property tax unless there’s an exemption,” said Brad Cohen, partner at JMBM in Los Angeles.

“I don’t advise people to cheat their taxes just because there’s a good chance they’re not going to get caught,” he added. “And there’s people that’ll charge a lot less than me to tell them that.”

As is tradition, things are a little more freewheeling in Florida.

In theory, the state has required sellers to file a disclosure with the Department of Revenue any time someone buys a single-purpose LLC that owns real estate for at least five years. In theory, the department then loops in the local property appraiser, who — in theory — applies the proper transfer taxes.

“In practice, very few follow the law, and could get into serious trouble if they were found to have violated the law,” said Keith Poliakoff, founder and managing partner of Government Law Group in Fort Lauderdale.

Just as in New York and California, the loophole no longer exists, but enforcement often hasn’t kept up with buying activity. The fallout has been particularly brazen in Florida.

“There’s no way around the law, but the reality is people don’t tend to follow the law, either because people don’t know the law exists, or they’re trying to commit an illegal act,” said Poliakoff.

Especially during the pandemic, with out-of-towners descending on Florida, Poliakoff has noticed sellers coaxing unaware buyers to just purchase their ownership LLCs. With lax enforcement and unwitting buyers, some may be breaking the law without even knowing it.

“People buy drugs illegally all the time too. Both are breaking Florida law,” said Poliakoff.

Link: Ministerial privilege: Would Tony Blair’s transfer tax loophole work in the US?
Auther: Joe Lovinger

The three-bedroom, two-bath home has a corduroy-patterned exterior, rounded corners — and a cement pour that oozed from an industrial-sized toothpaste tube. And most intriguing of all, it comes from a 3D printer.

When the house is finished around November, Kyndra and James Light, a husband-wife development team, will be asking between $175,000 and $225,000 for the 1,440-square-foot dwelling.

The printed homes are said to be quicker to make, stronger, and resistant to such Florida hazards as mold, hurricanes and flooding. And most crucial of all: They seem poised to offer affordable housing in a state where many have forgotten there can be such a thing.

But to see for yourself, South Floridians will need to saddle up and head for Tallahassee to inspect the house, which the Lights say is the only permitted 3D-printed home in Florida.

We’re all becoming used to hearing about such 3D printed objects as face masks, jewelry, jet engines, construction equipment and even guns. It’s a method of developing a three-dimensional object, layer by layer, through the use of computer-generated designs.

The 3D homebuilding process is similar, but the printer itself looks less like those becoming more common in workplaces, and more like an oversized car wash. The printers weigh almost a couple of tons, cost between $500,000 and $700,000, and include sophisticated computer programs to control construction. They feed instructions to racks — which can range in size from 10 feet long by 10 feet high, to 100 feet by 100 feet. Attached to the racks is a spout, which goes back and forth over the site directing the premixed cement according to the design. The mix then hardens into a concrete structure.

“Make no mistake, these houses are not your average test models,” said the Lights, owners of Precision Building & Renovating, which is based in the state capital. “The finished product is far superior in strength, durability, and efficiency.”

3D-printed homes could be the answer to Florida’s long-standing affordable housing shortage. But Tallahassee developers James and Kyndra Light, who say they are building the only permitted 3D home in the state thus far, say it will take a wider availability of printing technology for the homes to take hold in the market. (Precision Building & Renovating,/Courtesy)

From coast to coast, 3D-printed homes are gaining ground as a possible alternative to making housing more affordable in cities roiled by exploding prices and thinning inventories. The idea is to cut production time and labor costs and sell solidly built homes at prices that lower-income earners can afford.

Other 3D home projects around North America include:

• A two-bedroom, two-bath printed home in Riverhead, N.Y., listed this summer at $299,999.
• Four homes in Austin, Texas, that were scheduled for occupancy over the summer.
• 15 “eco-friendly” homes being built near Palm Springs, Calif.
• And In Mexico, a 3D-printed neighborhood for families living on $3 a day.

Approval in Tallahassee

The Tallahassee home project has attracted lots of attention from a visitors including state lawmakers, as well as support from the city, Kyndra Light said.

“The City of Tallahassee has been extremely supportive of the project,” she said. “We made sure we did our homework so we presented them with something that was a viable option.”

James Light said the couple spoke frequently over two years with city code officials, commissioners and local agencies.

“Tallahassee being the state capital, there are a lot of representatives up here — that kind of helped,” he said. “That was a spark of interest: ‘Hey, here’s a solution to a major problem I have.”

That problem is affordable housing.

The project is funded in part through the City of Tallahassee’s affordable housing construction loan program. Once completed, the home’s price will be capped at 80% of the area’s median income.

The cost to maintain the home will be less than a standard wood-frame home, the Lights said.

“Wood breaks and wood rots, especially here in the South,” James Light said. “In time, we will be able to offer investment opportunities for families that are more accessible, and with a longer range of return.”

The printing machine used by Printed Farms of Wellington, whose workers and equipment laid out and poured the mix for a 3D printed home under construction in Tallahassee. (Precision Building & Renovating,/Courtesy)

Wellington firm in the vanguard

While no 3D homes appear to be on the immediate horizon in South Florida, the company that poured the concrete for the Tallahassee project is based in Wellington, and has several Florida projects in the works, the owners said in an email.

Jim Ritter and Fredrik Wannius, co-founders of Printed Farms, accepted delivery of their first printing machine in August 2020 from Denmark.

The “closed shell construction system,” Wannius said, “produces a hurricane-, flood-resistant building taking sheet rock out of the walls and using an almost water-impermeable print material.”

“The material arrives in super sacks and is loaded into a silo,” he added. “The material is mixed [in the system] with water and pumped into the hopper of the 3D printer.”

He said a 1,540 square foot home can be produced in two to three weeks, depending on inspections, roof system and whether exterior window and doors are installed.

“This is from forming the slab to covering of the roof, he said. “We can print the walls in four to five days.”

Wannius said his firm has not encountered any local building code problems to date,

“Our buildings have superior materials and are stronger than most current building methods,” he said.

He added that the firm intends to build a luxury 4,500 square foot house on the Intracoastal Waterway in Lake Worth.

“We are approved for design and moving forward on structural engineering,” he said. “This will prove that building high-end and luxury homes is cheaper and better quality then conventional. We feel we are more resistant to mold, hurricane and flood. Our freedom of design makes the cost much lower because curves don’t add expensive forming costs. This home will have the first 3D-printed pool.”

Wannius said Printed Farms is also in negotiations to build a two-story house in Tampa for a client, and is looking to build a single-family home for the University of Miami, an AirBnB for another client and a luxury horse farm in 2022.

“Those projects have been hand-picked from 600 requests since February,” he said.

South Florida may have to wait

Despite the rising levels of interest, real estate and development experts in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties said would-be buyers in the region will probably have to wait at least two to three years before 3D homes make a significant splash in the tri-county area.

“The housing industry hasn’t changed its overall methods of building homes in the past 50 years,” said Brad Hunter, president of Hunter Housing Economics in West Palm Beach. “Innovations like 3D and modular construction will start to gain popularity.”

“I think that there’s going to be an accelerated pace of innovation in housing in the next five to 10 years,” he said.

Mike Pappas, CEO of The Keyes Co. real estate services firm, agreed that 3D has a future.

“I think we are in the embryonic stage. The car is just starting to run,” he said. “There are people who are betting big on it. They are seeing this as the future. I heard the strength of the building because of the poured concrete is actually stronger than a typical home.”

The biggest potential holdup is that local building codes do not address 3D homes, lawyers told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

“There are differences between us in the tri-county area and the Tallahassee neighborhood where that couple built their home,” said Fort Lauderdale attorney Keith Poliakoff of the Government Law Group.

The main difference is that hurricane-vulnerable South Florida is in a high-velocity wind zone. Projects need statewide or local approvals to ensure they meet stringent building codes.

“While the technology is novel … it’s still a little bit off for them to be commonly used throughout the tri-county region for hurricane reasons and the ability to build larger structures,” Poliakoff said.

But Kyndra Light said 3D homes can arrive on a mass scale faster if builders, developers, regulators and others act in concert to make them happen.

“If we can all lock arms and walk down the Yellow Brick Road, so to speak, that is what it will take,” she said.

Link: Are you ready for a 3D-printed house? They’re cheaper, stronger and long-lasting, developers say
Auther: DAVID LYONS

Overlooked by developers for decades, downtown Hollywood is finally attracting more projects, leading to more residents and businesses in the city.

While Fort Lauderdale to the north and Aventura to the south boomed with new towers, downtown Hollywood and its historic Young Circle didn’t see much major development. While that kept rents more affordable than in other cities, the city’s tax base didn’t benefit from the greater property values, and local businesses missed out on new customers.

But that’s quickly changing. And Young Circle is at the center of it all.

After completing the Circ Residences and the Circ Hotel in 2018, developer Chip R. Abele Jr. is building the Block 40 apartments and retail project. BTI Partners is moving forward with two major developments.

Mayor Joshua Levy said the planning started 20 years ago with a master plan by Miami architect Bernard Zyscovich, followed by a Regional Activity Center (RAC) passed in 2016 that allows for high-density, mixed-use development on the eastern side of the city.

“What we are seeing on Young Circle today is significant progress in the master plan vision that looks to create a neighborhood around the circle with high-rise towers,” Levy said. “But without the developers who have the wherewithal to construct these buildings, the plans are just drawings on paper.”

Jorge Camejo, director of the Hollywood Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), said the RAC allocated 16,000 units of density in the area. The CRA has incentive programs for development there, as it awarded property tax rebates to both the Circ and Block 40. Camejo said a project that follows the master plan and contributes to the economic development of downtown could qualify for incentives.

Shiv Newaldass, the city’s director of development services, said it will fast-track permits for developments and new restaurants that help downtown.

“Hollywood is being established as the next place to be,” he said.

Coming to Hollywood

For more than a decade, the largest development sites on Young Circle were tied up in litigation or owners unwilling to sell. Older, unused buildings, while considered historic, sat in disrepair. Undaunted, Abele, CEO of GCF Development, moved forward with his projects.

He started working on development around Young Circle about 20 years after he was approached by a lobbyist, Abele said. He liked that Hollywood is halfway between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, so it seemed poised to be the next center of development.

“The city of Hollywood is in an amazing location for an urban downtown,” Abele said. “We see a lot of demand for residents here, and that will push demand for retail.”

Noah Breakstone, CEO of Fort Lauderdale-based BTI Partners, said he has over $500 million in development lined up for downtown Hollywood because it’s in an ideal location, near the beach and Interstate 95, with the ArtsPark at Young Circle providing space for recreation and events.

“People want to walk to the park or the ocean or restaurants,” Breakstone said. “People are yearning to be outside and enjoy that space.”

Development wave

BTI Partners recently tore down the old Bread Building and expects to start construction of 362 apartments with ground-floor retail near the end of the year. In the second half of 2022, Breakstone hopes to break ground on an even larger project on Young Circle: two 35-story towers with 802 apartments, plus retail and offices.

Rents will be less than in downtown Fort Lauderdale, but higher than Hollywood’s existing housing stock.

“When looking at reemerging neighborhoods and putting up mixed-use development, you also have to believe your rents will surpass neighborhood rents and take that leap of faith,” Breakstone said.

Abele said the apartments at the Circ are doing great, with rents increasing, and the Publix on the ground floor has terrific sales. Block 40, with 273 apartments, is slated to be ready by January.

“We’ve always thought they would really activate downtown,” Abele said of his two projects. “They will add to downtown traffic for entertainment, shopping and dining.”

Steve Berman, CEO of local developer Firm Realty, is building a 50,000-square-foot office in downtown Hollywood without any preleasing. Most of the city’s tenants are small professional firms or startup businesses looking for 1,200 to 2,400 square feet, he said.

“We don’t attract the major law firms and large users you see in downtown Fort Lauderdale and Miami,” Berman said. “Traditionally, we get local companies and professionals already in the area who are looking for nicer office space.”

As the city attracts more residents and restaurants, he expects more companies will want to locate there to be part of the scene.

Berman will help that happen, as he agreed to sell the SunTrust office building on Hollywood Boulevard to Miami-based Estate Cos., which secured approval for 324 apartments and 30,000 square feet of retail there.

“That will put residential living directly on Hollywood Boulevard, and introduce a higher scale of restaurant and retail than exists now,” Berman said.

There’s also plenty of infill development opportunities on Dixie Highway and Federal Highway, Levy said. Housing Trust Group is building apartments there, and Brightline is interested in putting a station on the FEC Railway in the city.

“We are just scratching the surface on what the RAC area ought to be,” Levy said.

Changes on the boulevard

City officials are currently considering new street configurations for both Hollywood Boulevard and Young Circle.

The CRA’s Camejo said plans call for wider sidewalks and more shade trees on Hollywood Boulevard to enhance walkability and double the outdoor dining space.

“The challenge for any city is to differentiate themselves in the marketplace,” he said. “We have a unique pedestrian environment with Young Circle and walkable streets. That is what lures people.”

That may not be enough to overcome the inefficient building designs there, Abele said. One of the reasons there are high vacancy rates and low rents on Hollywood Boulevard is because the buildings are not configured well for modern retail, often 24 feet wide by 130 feet deep. Most retailers can’t use the back half of those buildings, so they are challenging to rent, Abele said.

Abele suggests that the city buy the rear halves of buildings and widen the alleyways to create retail-lined courtyards.

As for Young Circle, when BTI Partners completes its two towers, Hollywood Boulevard will have direct access to the park and it will have a straight view of the beach.

“That will reshape the Hollywood skyline and add density, allowing people to stay in place with the restaurants and retail,” said attorney Keith Poliakoff of Fort Lauderdale-based Government Law Group. “The biggest problem for years was there wasn’t enough residential mass to make downtown a success. Finally, there will be significant mass for food trucks and art shows and music festivals.”

Link: Real Estate Journal: Developers circle downtown Hollywood
Auther: Brian Bandell

The U.S. Supreme Court ended the Biden administration’s eviction moratorium on Thursday, allowing evictions to resume amid rising COVID-19 cases. This decision is a big deal for landlords across the country, including South Florida, who have tenants behind on their rental payments.

Alan Kipnis, an attorney with the Government Law Group in Fort Lauderdale, represents landlords whose first choice is to not evict their tenants. He says the landlords will try anything they can to work with people.

“The legal system is not the right way to do it. It never was, by the way, before COVID. They’re trying to work with the tenants as best they can. I think one of the problems is the money that was allocated from the Congress never got here,” Kipnis said.

“I’m not surprised the eviction moratorium was lifted, and it’s good news for landlords looking for more options,” Kipnis said.

 Alan Kipnis of Government Law Group. Courtesy photo

“It’s going to be a double-edged sword. We all know how badly COVID is still going on in Florida, so the fact that the moratorium is lifted, first what’s going to happen is the landlords are now able to file landlord-tenant evictions. The problem is, the court system is still in the same spot it was 17 months ago. They’re closed for the most part and understaffed,” Kipnis said.

According to an eviction moratorium research brief by law firm Marcus & Millichap, a mass wave of forced exits is not likely, despite months of delays resulting in more eviction orders filed than in a typical year. Kipnis believes the court system will get clogged up as more people are able to file.

“While it creates a lot more problems for the tenant in terms of being subjected to eviction, I think the process will take longer, and it’s going to be painful in terms of time. It’s just going to add to the pressures we add to right now,” Kipnis said.

He advises that attorneys representing both tenants and landlords prepare for a large number of cases and problems within the court system.

“It’s going to cause delays, and attorneys are going to have to work with the courts and the clerks to try to work through this. It’s something an attorney needs to be prepared for. Give them a reality check in terms of what’s going to happen here. A tenant should know that they’re not going to be served and out the door in 15 minutes. The courts are still required to go through a procedure if the tenant objects to the eviction, and that process will take place, it’ll just take a long period of time,” Kipnis said.

According to Jason Vanslette of Kelley Kronenberg in Fort Lauderdale, the eviction process shouldn’t take too long.

“It’s a summary proceeding so they may take these eviction proceedings on an expedited basis, there might be a backlog for sure, because of the mass amounts of filings. Obviously, the court system has so many limited resources, so certainly that will take effect and probably delay some, but due to the timelines that are required due to the statute under summary proceedings, the delay shouldn’t be that much,” Vanslette said.

Now is the perfect window for residential landlords to file, just in case the eviction moratorium is extended again, Vanslette said.

 Jason Vanslette, a partner at Kelley Kronenberg in Fort Lauderdale.

“The issue with that is, it’s only been 24 hours and on the executive level, the president or Congress could act and reinstate an eviction moratorium again. It is possible you can file your eviction but if another moratorium is in place between now and then, it will once again be stalled. Try to use your resources as much as possible while the window is still open,” Vanslette said.

According to the research brief, 94.9% of renters in the country made their monthly payments in July, which is less than 2% below the July 2019 measure. The statistic suggests that delinquency is not much higher than in a traditional year. The federal stimulus checks and expanded unemployment insurance were early key supports for people. For people renting, Vanslette said applying for federal assistance can help those facing eviction.

“There’s close to $46 billion for renters or landlords for that matter who can apply for assistance. To date, probably about $5 billion of that has been disbursed and there’s some red tape and bureaucratic issues, but the assistance is there at the local level, and if they have or acquire, they should try to apply with the local department of health or their local cities and county governments,” Vanslette said.

Currently, the multifamily sector is doing well. According to the record brief, rental demand has already recovered from last year, with vacancies dropping 3.8% in June. In the Class C tier where the risk of COVID-related evictions is highest, rents are climbing. Tenant turnover is expected over the next few months, but a shortage of housing will help bolster operations across a range of housing options.

“Regarding the impact of the moratorium ending on the multifamily sector, particularly when it comes to occupancies and the unprecedented rent growth we have seen, pent-up demand in primary and secondary U.S. markets should offset a substantial amount of the new vacancies. As long as would-be buyers continue to be priced out of purchasing, rental rates in these areas should remain at record levels,” said Marcie Williams, president of RKW Residential, which manages over 25,000 apartments in South Florida.

Williams said the Supreme Court made the right ruling and the entire multifamily industry is breathing a sigh of relief.

“The moratorium has been a long-term burden on apartment community owners, with some renters not paying any rent for an entire year. We agree with the National Multi-Housing Council’s [NMHC] response to the court’s ruling that encourages landlords to focus on a compassionate approach prioritizing the support of residents. We have emphasized flexibility and compassion throughout the pandemic and will continue to do so to help our residents,” Williams said.

Some states, including New York and California, have extended their own moratoriums, which will help some renters gain income stability.

Link: South Florida Attorneys Weigh In on Supreme Court’s Decision on Biden’s Eviction Ban
Auther: Melea VanOstrand

Law360  — The latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moratorium on residential evictions is likely to face swift legal challenges, and the U.S. Supreme Court, with one justice having recently said legislation was required for the ban to continue into August, could soon weigh in on the matter.

The CDC’s prior ban on residential evictions, a cornerstone of the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, expired July 31, and earlier this week the White House said the CDC had found no legal grounds for an extension. But on Tuesday, the CDC took a 180-degree turn in issuing a new moratorium.

Experts expect prompt challenges to the latest ban, particularly given that Justice Brett Kavanaugh in June said an extension of the CDC ban could only be done through Congress. Earlier this week, it appeared the CDC was also of that mindset, until it changed course Tuesday and issued the new ban.

“Clearly, there’s going to be a court challenge. It will likely be in federal court. Some might try state courts first,” said Alan Kipnis, a partner at Government Law Group in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “I think it will start in the federal court and very likely could go up to the Supreme Court on a fast-track basis.”

The latest CDC moratorium, which applies only to areas where COVID-19 cases are soaring, will cover roughly 90% of the U.S. population. It’s set to remain in effect until Oct. 3.

The CDC ban comes just over a month after the Supreme Court in Alabama Association of Realtors et al. v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services et al.  denied a request to lift a prior CDC moratorium. However, Justice Kavanaugh at that time said “clear and specific congressional authorization (via new legislation)” was required to extend the ban beyond the end of July.

“Although the Supreme Court’s June 29th decision did not directly resolve the CDC’s authority to extend the eviction moratorium, given Justice Kavanaugh’s concurring opinion on the procedural questions of whether a stay should have been granted, it is foreshadowed that … the Supreme Court would likely ultimately conclude that the CDC lacked authority if the issue comes directly to it,” said Bonnie Hochman Rothell, a partner and chair of the litigation practice at Morris Manning & Martin LLP.

Justice Kavanaugh in the Alabama Association of Realtors case said he believed the CDC had overstepped its authority with its prior ban, but sided with Chief Justice John Roberts and the three liberal members of the high court in the 5-4 decision, explaining that he voted the way he did to let the process of allocation of federal funds play out over the course of July and let the ban expire as planned, at the end of July.

Representatives at the CDC and the White House couldn’t be immediately reached for comment Wednesday on the latest CDC moratorium.

“I would anticipate that any CDC action will also be found to be contrary to the law,” said Simon Adams, a partner at Nossaman LLP. “That decision will need a plaintiff that wants to challenge this and a court decision will be delayed due to the speed of the courts.”

The jury remains out on just who might challenge CDC’s latest ban.

While the Alabama Association of Realtors was unsuccessful in its challenge to an earlier moratorium, would-be plaintiffs could have more success now, particularly at the Supreme Court level given Justice Kavanaugh’s recent comments.

Kipnis said the range of potential plaintiffs is broad, from the ACLU on one end to national apartment owners organizations on the other.

“Any one of those organizations could challenge, and probably will challenge,” Kipnis said.

While experts point to Justice Kavanaugh’s remarks, lawyers’ warnings of looming challenges are also highlighting the difficulties landlords are having, given the pressures on them to pay their mortgages.

Ruth Shin, founder and CEO of PropertyNest, noted the difficulties small landlords have faced.

“In the past year, landlords still had to pay their bills while dealing with rent losses … [and] government initiatives need to support both — renters and landlords — to achieve a sustainable long-term recovery,” Shin said. “The extension could be challenged by landlords and property owners.”

–Additional reporting by Hailey Konnath and Jimmy Hoover. Editing by Emily Kokoll and Orlando Lorenzo.

For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.

Link: CDC’s New Eviction Freeze Poised For Major Legal Hurdles
Auther: Andrew McIntyre