Biden Asks Congress for a Longer Eviction Moratorium

Just as the eviction moratorium, which has been a thorn in the side of many multifamily owners and operators, was supposed to run out, President Biden made a last-minute bid to keep it in place.

A statement today from White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that President Biden “calls on Congress to extend the eviction moratorium to protect such vulnerable renters and their families without delay.” He also “asked the U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture, and Veterans Affairs to extend their respective eviction moratoria through the end of September, which will provide continued protection for households living in federally-insured, single-family properties.”

Although the CDC had previously extended the moratorium multiple times, the Supreme Court made clear in June that a further broad extension could not be done without congressional approval and authority.

It’s unclear whether Democrats have the votes to get an extension, as a Washington Post report noted. Avoiding a Senate filibuster would take all Democrats and ten Republicans to stop a filibuster.

“Maybe they’re trying to excuse the lack of urgency in getting the funds out to tenants or their landlords,” Michelle Quinn, a partner with law firm Gallet Dreyer & Berkey, tells GlobeSt.com. “Under New York’s plan, it is horribly slow in getting the money to the applicants and the landlords. The issue is it’s only harming landlords.”

Lisa Pendergast, executive director of CRE Finance Council, agreed that money needed to be sent out faster. “CREFC is highly supportive of the Federal rental assistance programs in place and would like to see those monies be more quickly distributed, allowing tenants to remain in their homes and landlords to operate their properties, pay their expenses and service their mortgage debt,” she says.

One significant problem with a further extension is its broad nature and the limitations in states. In NY, for example, there is only money for a year, “which is going to cause problems, obviously, because there are going to be tenants that did not pay for more than a year,” Quinn says. “Kicking the can down the road does not solve anything.”

“Many mom-and-pop landlords who own properties where tenants are not paying rent are struggling to make required mortgage, insurance, and tax payments,” Paul Getty, CEO of First Guardian Group, which provides services for real estate investors, tells GlobeSt.com. “In spite of promises of government relief to landlords, very few funds have been received to offset the losses caused by the moratorium.”

“Not all tenants are at risk for homelessness,” Quinn adds. If the reason for the moratorium, as originally stated, was worry about people being homeless, in shelters, and spreading the virus, “that cannot be the only consideration because not everyone who would be a respondent in court is at risk for homelessness.”