Delivering another blow to people across the United States still struggling financially during the coronavirus pandemic and related economic crisis, a Trump-appointed federal judge on Wednesday vacated the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s temporary federal eviction moratorium, which was set to expire at the end of next month.
First enacted under former President Donald Trump last year, the CDC moratorium has been repeatedly extended including twice under President Joe Biden.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has presented a historic threat to the nation’s public health. Keeping people in their homes and out of crowded or congregate settings like homeless shelters by preventing evictions is a key step in helping to stop the spread of Covid-19,” CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky said in March, when the agency extended the moratorium until June 30, amid estimates that 12 million U.S. tenants were behind on rent.
Rental assistance is finally being disbursed
The potential for the ban to be overturned is ill-timed because federal rental relief money is finally making its way to renters and their landlords, Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, said in a statement. The Biden administration should continue to vigorously defend and enforce the moratorium, at least until emergency rental assistance provided by Congress reaches the renters who need it to remain stably housed, Yentel added.
States have tens of billions of dollars in rental assistance available from the federal relief bills signed into law in December 2020 and March 2021. Tenants behind on rent because of a Covid-related job loss or reduction in hours can apply for programs in their city or state (more details on the eligibility requirements can be found outlined here), or have their landlords apply for them. The relief will typically be paid directly to the landlord.
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WASHINGTON A federal judge on Wednesday struck down the nationwide moratorium on evictions imposed by the Trump administration last year and extended by President Joe Biden until June 30, a ruling that could affect tenants struggling to pay rent during the pandemic.
The decision, by Judge Dabney Friedrich of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, is the most significant federal ruling on the moratorium yet, and follows three similar federal court decisions. The Justice Department immediately appealed and will seek an emergency stay of the decision, potentially delaying a final resolution of the case past the moratorium’s planned June 30 expiration.
Inman Connect
On Wednesday, Judge Dabney L. Friedrich passed down a ruling that’s shaken renters, landlords, investors, and housing advocates.
After a seven-month legal battle between the Alabama Association of Realtors and the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Freidrich vacated the nationwide eviction moratorium, saying the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention overstepped its bounds when it extended the protections to include non-federally-funded rental housing.
“It is the role of the political branches, and not the courts, to assess the merits of policy measures designed to combat the spread of disease, even during a global pandemic,” her memorandum opinion read. “The question for the Court is a narrow one: Does the Public Health Service Act grant the CDC the legal authority to impose a nationwide eviction moratorium? It does not.”
DOJ Appeals Federal Judge s Eviction Moratorium Ruling That Could Put 4 Million at Risk
On 5/6/21 at 7:48 AM EDT
The Biden administration is appealing a federal judge s ruling that strikes down the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention s moratorium on evictions.
The nationwide moratorium was imposed by the Trump administration last year to help Americans struggling to pay rent during the coronavirus pandemic. In March, the CDC announced an extension of the measure until June 30.
The moratorium was enacted under the Public Health Service Act of 1944, which gives the federal government the power to impose quarantines and other measures to combat public health emergencies.