COVID-19 News
CDC order bans evictions
Federal eviction moratorium effective through Dec. 31, 2020
Beginning Friday, Sept. 4, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will implement a temporary eviction moratorium on all rental units nationwide, effective through the end of the year.
Under the order, a landlord, owner of a residential property or other person with a legal right to pursue eviction or possessory action, may not evict any covered person from any residential property in the United States.
The order protects from eviction any tenant, lessee or resident of a residential property who provides to their landlord, the owner of the residential property or other person with a legal right to pursue eviction or a possessory action, a declaration under penalty of perjury indicating that:
The individual has used best efforts to obtain all available government assistance for rent or housing
The individual either 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), was not required to report any income in 2019 to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, 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.
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.
The order does not relieve any individual of any obligation to pay rent, make a housing payment or comply with any other obligation that the individual may have under a tenancy, lease or similar contract. Nothing in the order stops the charging or collecting of fees, penalties or interest as a result of the failure to pay rent or other housing payment on a timely basis, under the terms of any applicable contract.
The order is meant to achieve mitigation of the spread of COVID-19 within shared living settings, unsheltered homelessness, from one state to another and to support COVID-19 efforts at the Federal, State, local, territorial and tribal levels.
Failure to comply with the order may result in criminal charges. Landlords may still evict tenants for:
- Engaging in criminal activity while on the premises
- Threatening the health or safety of other residents
- Damaging or posing an immediate and significant risk of damage to property
- Violating any applicable building code, health ordinance or similar regulation relating to health and safety
- Violating any other contractual obligation, other than the timely payment of rent or similar housing-related payment, including non-payment or late payment of fees, penalties or interest.
