Modified Operations Due to COVID-19 & Stay at Home
COVID-19 FAQs
COVID-19, also know as Coronavirus, has taken over our country and has changed the way of life for most of us. The State of California is currently under a shelter in place order. With this order, Locale Res has had to adapt some of our processes to comply and to make sure our staff and tenants are safe. This is a rapidly changing time for everyone, tenants and landlords alike and we will continue to monitor the economic landscape in the coming weeks and months. Thank you for being a valued tenant and we look forward to getting through these tough times together. As always, don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions and thank you for patience and understanding.
For more information on COVID-19 and the lastest updates for Butte County, please go here.
Locale Res Office
The Locale Res office is currently closed to visitor. We encourage you to use your tenant portal for any questions, maintenance request, etc. The Locale Res staff is still working and would be happy to assist you during our office hours, Monday through Friday from 10 am to 2 pm.
Signed A Lease and Are Now Not Able to Move In?
If you signed a lease and are now not able to move into the unit and are hoping to cancel your lease, please email us at leasing@localeres.com. Please note the lease will be upheld until we can either find someone new to take over the lease/move in. We will not be able to cancel any leases at this time.
A lease is a valid legal document that cannot be canceled by either one party. For example we cannot cancel your lease without your agreement, just as you can't cancel without ours.
If you have signed a lease with roommates and now are unable to move in, you will need to work with your roommates to come to an agreement. All roommates will need to agree to sign off a person and work out the deposit with them. We will not be getting involved with roommate issues stemming from roommates not being able to move in.
The tenants also need to be requesting more assistance, we will not be able to respond to guarantors at this time.
You can submit an questions through your tenant portal here.
Maintenance Request
Due to the restrictions on work and the need to keep government-mandated social distancing, we may be slower than normal to respond to non-emergency maintenance requests. Please don’t hesitate to use your tenant portal for any requests, but please be patient as we work on what we can when we can. And if any maintenance workers are sent to your home, please be sure to keep at least six feet away from them, to maintain the social distancing.
Rent
The owners of our rental properties in the United States are still responsible for making their mortgage payments to their banks, as well as paying for taxes, insurance, repairs, and other expenses needed to maintain your home. We still need to make sure we receive income to cover these bills.
If you have lost all ability to pay rent, including losing your job, your other sources of income, your unemployment has run out, and no government assistance comes to fruition, then please let us know by using your tenant portal as soon as possible so we can help you go over your options. Communication is key and urgent. Please remember that we do accept credit cards for rent payments. Please be aware that if you do not contact us to let us know that you have been affected by COVID-19, we will not know that you may need assistance during these unprecedented times.
We will be waiving April late fees when at least a partial payment is made for rent and the tenant has communicated through their tenant portal.
Need unemployment assistance? File and find more information for unemployment here.
If you are not currently facing a COVID-19 related hardship, please continue to pay rent as usual. We want to ensure we are able to continue to support the personnel and staff who work every day to provide essential services to all residents. We are all in this together, and if we work together, we can weather this storm.
Ending Your Lease Early?
If you need to get our your lease early, please submit your request through your tenant portal. We can offer early lease terminations. An early lease termination means you will move out, we will turnover the unit and work on re-renting it as quickly as possible. You will be responsible for rent until either someone new moves in or your lease ends. You will then be refunded back your deposit. If you are interested in starting this process please let us know through your tenant portal here.
Social Distancing
Right now, no doubt you’ve heard about (and are engaged in) what we refer to as “social distancing.” The purpose of this world-wide action is not simply to stop you from getting sick; the larger purpose is to slow down the progression of this virus so hospitals will not be overwhelmed with those who are most likely to be affected. Without social distancing, hospitals will quickly be overrun with far too many patients and not enough equipment to handle it. As such, we just encourage you to stay home and follow the guidelines set forth by the CDC, which you can read more about by going to http://cdc.gov/coronavirus.
Showings
Thank you for your interest in checking out one of our units!
- Most of our listings now have virtual showings. We are not doing in person showings at this time for the safety of our tenants, staff and yourself.
- To find a virtual showing, go onto a listing and look under the rent prices for links.
- Showings for approved applications will be done as requested.
Applications
Applications are done online and all supporting documents can be uploaded directly onto your application. If you have any questions about the application process please email us at leasing@localeres.com. You can start the application process here.
Applications are being process on a first completed/approve, first serve basis. Only completed applications will be process. This means all roommates need to submit everything too.
Evictions
Evictions have been halted in Chico and Butte County through May 31. According to the governor's order, such ordinances should spell out that if a tenant cannot pay the rent because of COVID-19, that tenant’s rental payment is deferred for a reasonable period but not waived. Please note that rent is still due. Per City of Chico, section 9:
It is hereby ordered that no landlord shall evict a residential or commercial tenant in the City of Chico during this local emergency period if the tenant is able to demonstrate an inability to pay rent due to financial impacts related to COVID-19.
To take advantage of the protections afforded under this Section 9, a tenant must do all the following:
-
- Notify the landlord in writing before the day rent is due that the tenant has
a covered reason for delayed payment; and - Provide the landlord with verifiable documentation to support the assertion
of a covered reason for delayed payment.
- Notify the landlord in writing before the day rent is due that the tenant has
Nothing in this section shall be construed to mean that the tenant will not still be obligated to pay lawfully charged rent. Tenants will have up to six months following the expiration of the local emergency period to repay any back due rent, verifiably caused by financial impacts related to COVID-19. Such protections afforded in this section are not enforceable by the City against a landlord but may utilized by applicable tenants afforded protections in this section as an affirmative defense in an unlawful detainer action or other applicable legal proceeding. This section shall remain in effect through May 31, 2020, or as otherwise extended by further Executive Order extending the expiration date...
For more information on the executive order, please go here.