Tag Archives: CDC eviction moratorium

U.S. appeals court panel rejects latest bid to halt CDC eviction moratorium

By Jan Wolfe and David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A federal appeals court on Friday rejected a bid by groups representing landlords to halt the latest moratorium on residential evictions imposed by President Joe Biden’s administration, setting up a U.S. Supreme Court showdown.

In a written order, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied an emergency request by two chapters of the National Association of Realtors to stop the COVID-19 pandemic-related eviction ban set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The moratorium, implemented after a previous one lapsed at the end of July, is due to expire on Oct. 3.

Realtor groups in Alabama and Georgia were among those challenging the moratorium.

The appellate court’s order sets the stage for the Supreme Court to hear arguments over whether the administration overstepped its authority by issuing the moratorium.

“We are disappointed in today’s ruling, but the plaintiffs will continue fighting on behalf of America’s mom-and-pop housing providers and plan to file an emergency motion to the Supreme Court immediately,” National Association of Realtors spokesman Patrick Newton said in a statement.

A CDC spokeswoman declined to comment.

Under heavy political pressure from Biden’s fellow Democrats, his administration reversed course on Aug. 3 and issued a slightly narrower eviction moratorium three days after the prior one expired. Biden initially had said that congressional action was needed to renew the moratorium, but his administration reversed course.

The current moratorium covers nearly 92% of U.S. counties, but that could change based on COVID-19 conditions.

The CDC first issued a moratorium in September 2020 after a prior one approved by Congress expired, with agency officials saying the policy was needed to combat the spread of COVID-19 and prevent homelessness during the pandemic.

(Reporting by Jan Wolfe and David Shepardson; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

U.S. appeals court leaves CDC residential eviction ban in place

By Michelle Conlin

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A federal appeals court on Wednesday refused to overturn the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) national ban on residential evictions.

In a blow to landlords, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said it would not lift a stay of a lower court ruling that had declared the eviction ban unlawful.

In language suggesting that the government’s eviction ban was lawful, the panel said the government “has made a strong showing that it is likely to succeed on the merits” of its appeal. The moratorium, which is set to expire on June 30, covers renters whose incomes were hit by COVID-19.

Ever since the CDC implemented the eviction ban in September, landlord groups, arguing that they are on the brink of financial collapse after going months without being paid, have filed challenges in courts across the country, with mixed results.

Legal experts said that Wednesday’s ruling means that for now, the eviction ban will remain in effect until its planned expiration date on June 30, though other court challenges are pending.

For low-income housing advocates, “This is a sigh of relief,” said Eric Dunn, director of litigation for the National Housing Law Project.

As the coronavirus pandemic moves into its second year, an estimated 7 million renters across the country owe $40 billion in back rent, utilities and fees, Moody’s Analytics estimates. This is more than twice the number of homeowners who lost their homes to foreclosure in the 2008 financial crisis.

Many eviction cases are pending, and some tenants may receive a lifeline from the $50 billion in rent relief approved by Congress, even though so far that aid has been slow to trickle out.

“If the CDC eviction moratorium expires or is overturned before those funds are expended, millions of renters would be at immediate risk of losing their homes. The result would be a historic wave of evictions, with tremendous, harmful consequences to individuals, communities, and our nation’s public health,” said Diane Yentel, president of the Low Income Housing Coalition.

Landlords and real estate groups that challenged the moratorium in court said the CDC lacked the power to impose it, and unlawfully took away their right to deal with delinquent tenants.

(Reporting by David Shepardson and Jan Wolfe; Editing by Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis)