Late last week, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich refused Alabama landlords’ request to walk back the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) eviction moratorium. Though she agreed the ban was illegal, Judge Friedrich said her “hands are tied” by an appellate decision made by the courts last spring.
Plaintiffs could challenge the policy with the D.C. Circuit and will likely appeal.
“The Administration believes that CDC’s new moratorium is a proper use of its lawful authority to protect the public health,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement on Friday. “We are pleased that the district court left the moratorium in place, though we are aware that further proceedings in this case are likely.”
While the old moratorium was nationwide. The current order covers only COVID hotspots until Oct. 3; however, Friedrich states this applies to “roughly 91% U.S. counties,” per the CDC’s COVID-19 data tracker.
The newly extended moratorium has been a controversial conversation, with several housing organizations coming together to form a coalition that opposes the new ban. The Alabama and Georgia chapters of the National Association of REALTORS® also filed a motion to exit the CDC ban.
The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) has submitted a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to rehear en banc the Brown, et al. v. CDC, et al. case challenging the CDC eviction moratorium. The organization alleges the court did not reach the statutory authority question, “instead deciding the case on the theory that NCLA’s clients did not demonstrate irreparable harm.”
Here’s what the industry is saying:
“No one, not even the President who oversees the CDC, thinks that the agency has the power to keep property owners from retaking possession of their own homes. Yet the Eleventh Circuit passed the buck because of the limited term of the moratorium. This hesitance only emboldened the agency and the President to extend the order yet again. The rule of law must prevail, and the Court must put a stop to the agency’s abuse of power.” — Caleb Kruckenberg, Litigation Counsel, NCLA
“The National Apartment Association (NAA) is disappointed in today’s decision by Judge Dabney Friedrich to allow the new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) eviction order to remain in place.
“The CDC’s eviction moratorium is unlawful, plain and simple. The government must move past such tactics and instead address the tsunami of unpaid rental debt to ensure America’s 40 million renters have homes not only tomorrow, but next year and beyond.
“Instead of continuing bad public policy that makes the nation’s housing affordability challenges worse, we must develop a sustainable path forward that includes fully funded rental assistance under a streamlined distribution system. Together, we can keep Americans housed and preserve a stable rental housing infrastructure.” — Bob Pinnegar, President and CEO, NAA
Is there a link to find the hotspots defined by CDC for this updated moratorium?
Agree, No one, not even the President who oversees the CDC, thinks that the agency has the power to keep property owners from retaking possession of their own homes.
We need to fight for justice. No more abuse of power.
The Administration believes that CDC’s new moratorium is a proper use of its lawful authority to protect the public health,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement on Friday. “We are pleased that the district court left the moratorium in place, though we are aware that further proceedings in this case are likely.”
Why is paying your rent any different then paying your mortgage? Why would they not also put a moratorium on mortgage payments if it protects the public health?
I bet that if it was as easy for the landlords to collect from all the relief funding available as it was for a lot of the country to collect unemployment and stimulus checks this problem would solve itself in pretty short order. I don’t know anyone who had to jump through a lot of hoops for PPP and SBA assistance either…so why is there such a boondoggle in getting that money to the landlords who DO want to pay their bills? Perhaps the Federal & State Governments could expend some efforts on working those details out instead of extending moratoriums and blame. Perhaps.
This killer virus is for many people an excuse to dodge responsibility for things like rent and going to work. I hear it from others all the time about how the virus took their job when all my friends go to work everyday.
HOW CAN a illeagal issue be allowed to take over a homeowners legal property The governnent is allowing squatters. I would like to be on a lawsuit against government seizing the rights where they have no just do cause
It makes sense to extend the eviction ban because the government shouldn’t push the issue to “stay home” if any percentage of the population has no home to go to. It will only make the spread of the virus worse if people are out and about. The same should apply to those who are paying mortgages. Fees should be waved by banks and landlords because it makes no sense to charge extra money on top of the money they’re not receiving, anyway! It’s pointless and greedy! There are other ways to trade and work it out. Increasing the homeless population is NOT the answer!
Today overreach of government agencies seems to be unbridled. What happened to the law of our land? We need to fight this before our country is forever changed for the worse. Most people are receiving enough subsidies to pay their rents as it is but they are using this as a way to reside for free and take advantage of the property owners. Wherever I look business’s are hiring, there is no reason for this.
Why should the burden be on the property owners to float these people, doesn’t their livelihood matter? This is not how America works.