Monrovia woman faces eviction after holidays due to pandemic

MONROVIA, Calif. (KABC) -- The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many businesses to shut down and has left many unemployed.

Brenda Nanomantube worked as a bartender at The Bucaneer Lounge and says the last time she had steady work was back in March before the stay-at-home order began.

"Right now I'm concerned about surviving. I've been out of work for nine months," she says.

Nanomantube is worried about getting evicted because she hasn't been able to pay her landlord, but she recognizes that her landlord also depends on that rent money to survive. "I'm three and a half months behind on my rent and you can't blame her, she has to pay her mortgage, I'm not mad at her," she says.

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Attorney Victor Hairapetian says it's a legal problem that both sides will be facing next year.

"This is an issue now hitting both sides, both landlords and tenants. I think the state legislature needs to do a better job protecting both sides. Obviously tenants need to get back so that they can generate the income necessary to pay the rents, and in the interim they have to do a little, a lot more actually, with respect to keeping the relationship balanced," he says.

Nanomantube takes care of her grandson during the day to help her daughter focus on her studies. She says it breaks her heart to tell him there won't be any presents this Christmas.

"As far as grandma goes, they're not going to get presents from grandma. Grandma doesn't have the money. Grandma can't even pay the bills and how do you explain to a seven-year-old he's not going get any presents from grandma?"

Nanomantube started a GoFundMe page asking for help and has raised nearly $3,000.

"I'm selling personal belongings on eBay, anything and everything I can do to try and survive," she says.

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