Floridians who can't make their residential mortgage and rent payments due to the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent economic slowdown are getting a break for another month.
Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order Monday extending the suspension of foreclosures and evictions through 12:01 a.m. July 1.
"We are committed to getting Floridians back on their feet as we move forward with our #SafeSmartStepbyStep plan for Florida's recovery," DeSantis said in a tweet on Tuesday, referring to his recovery plan.
DeSantis first imposed a 45-day moratorium April 2 and extended it until May 14. The second extension was to expire Tuesday when DeSantis opted for another extension.
More than 2 million new unemployment claims have been filed in Florida, according to the Department of Economic Opportunity's dashboard. In Miami-Dade County, 207,803 claims have been filed, representing 15% of the labor force. In Broward County, 163,797 claims have been filed, representing 15.7%. In Palm Beach County, 104,000 claims have been filed, representing 14.2% of the labor force.
The number of claims is considered well short of the actual jobless count because the state's online application system repeatedly crashed, blocked people for hours at a time and was intentionally shut down for repairs, upgrades and server changes. Many people who were rejected were advised to reapply.
South Florida has started to cautiously loosen stay-at-home orders and reopen businesses, although restaurants are limited to 50% capacity. Hotels in Miami-Dade reopened Monday.
The Miami-Dade Police Department said it won't pursue evictions, and it's the only authority that can execute writs of property possession.
The moratorium hasn't stopped some landlords from filing for evictions. More than 700 evictions have been filed with the Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts since DeSantis imposed the moratorium.
Landlords can electronically file for an eviction during the suspension, but tenants can't be forced out if Miami-Dade police aren't enforcing writs.
Foreclosure actions also continue to be filed despite DeSantis' order and CARES Act protections on federally backed mortgages.
Miami attorney and civic activist David Winker notes courts have been processing foreclosure actions despite the moratorium.
Winker wrote Miami-Dade Chief Circuit Judge Bertila Soto and Clerk of Courts Harvey Ruvin on Tuesday imploring them to nullify evictions and foreclosures filed during the moratorium.
"I represent many landlords and I, along with many other attorneys, am advising landlords that they must wait until after the moratorium to file eviction actions," Winker said in his letter. "Landlords that are ignoring the law and filing these prohibited evictions should not be rewarded for 'jumping the queue' and being first in line when the courts reopen for evictions."
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Lidia Dinkova
Lidia Dinkova covers South Florida real estate for the Daily Business Review. Contact her at [email protected] or 305-347-6665. On Twitter @LidiaDinkova.
