CDC Declares Eviction Moratorium That Will Last Until Year’s End

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is using its quarantine authority to temporarily halt evictions in order to keep COVID-19 from spreading. 

This order will take effect immediately and last until Dec. 31, 2020.

Renters must say they are not able to pay their rent or are likely to become homeless if they are evicted. People earning under $99,000 a year or couples earning less than $198,000 a year are eligible. 

Bloomberg  states that this is an unprecedented use of executive authority, and may face legal challenges from landlords. 

The CDC, though, argues in a Federal Register document to be published this week,  that  COVID-19 presents a historic threat to public health. “To respond to this public health threat, the Federal, State, and local governments have taken unprecedented or exceedingly rare actions, including border closures, restrictions on travel, stay-at-home orders, mask requirements, and eviction moratoria,” it stated. “Despite these best efforts, COVID-19 continues to spread and further action is needed.”

People are expected to make their “best efforts to make timely partial payments that are as close to the full payment as the individual’s circumstances may permit” and landlords can still evict people “for reasons other than not paying rent or making a housing payment,” according to the CDC document.

This new order will leave some apartment landlords  in a precarious position. Rental payments have remained stable so far, in large part because of the weekly $600 federal benefit payment that ended at the end of last month. So far Congress has not extended this assistance and the executive order, which has added $300 a week and has been adopted by many states, is set to run out in September.