CDC Filed Order Halting Evictions
Published on: Wednesday, September 2nd, 2020
Late yesterday afternoon, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) filed an order that halts evictions until the end of the year. The order is written to be effective when it is formally entered into the Federal Register on Friday, September 4.
The order applies to renters who swear under penalty of perjury that the following are true:
The individual has used best efforts to obtain all available government assistance for rent or housing;
The individual either (i) expects to earn no more than $99,000 in annual income for Calendar Year 2020 (or no more than $198,000 if filing a joint tax return), (ii) was not required to report any income in 2019 to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, or (iii) received an Economic Impact Payment (stimulus check) pursuant to Section 2201 of the CARES Act;
The individual is unable to pay the full rent or make a full housing payment due to substantial loss of household income, loss of compensable hours of work or wages, a lay-off, or extraordinary out-of-pocket medical expenses;
The individual is using best efforts to make timely partial payments that are as close to the full payment as the individual’s circumstances may permit, taking into account other nondiscretionary expenses; and
Eviction would likely render the individual homeless— or force the individual to move into and live in close quarters in a new congregate or shared living setting— because the individual has no other available housing options.
It does not apply to evictions for things other than non-payment of rent, and it does not prevent charging late fees. The government says it will impose criminal penalties on landlords who violate the ban.
We need congress to enact legislation that provides assistance for long-term funding for rental and unemployment assistance. With this new moratorium, landlords won’t be able to pay their bills and maintain their properties during the pandemic. What are renters to do with the huge balances they will accrue without means to pay it back?
We are disappointed that the administration has chosen to enact a federal eviction moratorium without the existence of dedicated, long-term funding for rental and unemployment assistance
