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emergency rent assistance. She added that enumerating the definition of"tender" in the <br /> ordinance as important, as landlords typically do not like to accept emergency rent assistance. <br /> She concluded by noting that homeowners are afforded multiple months to make up mortgage <br /> delinquencies, that eviction hurts family stability, and that"pay to stay" ensures fairness in the <br /> process. <br /> Councilmember Kepple asked why landlords do not like accepting emergency rent assistance. <br /> Ms. Martin stated that the average wait time for disbursement through Cleveland Housing <br /> Network was 45 days, causing notable delay time. Ms. Kepple asked how long the eviction <br /> process tends to take. Ms. Martin indicated it usually takes 3 weeks to schedule a hearing and <br /> that non-payment of rent is the most expedient reason to evict someone from a property. Ms. <br /> Kepple noted the importance of educating at risk individuals on how to apply for assistance. Ms. <br /> Martin stated that emergency rental assistance through Cleveland Housing Network was ending <br /> soon and concurred on the importance of tenant education, especially on the full cost of an <br /> eviction. <br /> Councilmember Shachner asked Ms. Martin, in her experience, at what stage do people often <br /> tender rent during the eviction process. Ms. Martin indicated that it largely depends on whether <br /> "pay to stay" legislation is working in concert with "right to counsel" legislation in a city. She <br /> stated that an attorney can help get people linked into emergency rent assistance. She has only <br /> heard pay to stay cases work in the context of an individual being represented by a Legal Aid <br /> attorney. Mr. Shachner surmised that there might be no way to know about people settling <br /> evictions. Ms. Martin stated that maybe the public will see lower eviction rates over the next 10 <br /> years, however her organization would not know about any settlements outside of court. <br /> Trish Rooney of the Lakewood Community Services Center(LCSC) spoke about how <br /> emergency rent assistance is disbursed in Lakewood, and how very different the process is <br /> compared to other communities. She stated that nearly everyone knows about emergency rent <br /> assistance in Lakewood and that it takes 5 days from application to release of funds to landlords, <br /> a speedy process. Compared to Cleveland Housing Network closing off funding on December <br /> 12Th, LCSC will be taking applications for assistance through Christmas. LCSC has many <br /> personal relationships with landlords so clients do not need to be represented through right to <br /> counsel. She noted that some new landlords/out of town buyers are represented by real estate <br /> companies such as Keller Williams or Howard Hanna, and that they are a little less flexible. <br /> These companies will often issue non-renewal notices or raise the rents as they revamp <br /> apartments. Overall however, Ms. Rooney indicated that Lakewood's situation compared to <br /> other cities is very different. Chair Bullock asked if there are a group of landlords that are <br /> frequent partners with LCSC. Ms. Rooney indicated that there are dozens of landlords with lower <br /> priced units that her organization has worked with for years. Chair Bullock surmised that maybe <br /> the city could help facilitate conversations with real estate companies in the future. <br /> Chief of Staff Storey inquired whether the last 12 words of the legislation, focusing on a late fee <br /> cap that landlords can charge, were modeled after another city. Councilmember Rader indicated <br /> that it was in the temporary ordinance and that was introduced by a former councilmember who <br /> modeled it after Cleveland's ordinance. Ms. Martin further clarified that the legislation was <br /> modeled after Cleveland and Dayton's late fee caps. Debate then ensued among councilmembers <br />