Judge puts hold on ruling voiding U.S. moratorium on evicting renters
A federal judge on Wednesday overturned the nationwide eviction moratorium on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention but agreed to temporarily postpone her decision as the government seeks to reverse the appeal decision.
US District Judge Dabney Friedrich said that while there was "no doubt" that Congress should enable the CDC to fight COVID-19 through a series of measures including quarantines, it did not include a moratorium on residential property evictions. The ruling was a setback for millions of Americans who defaulted on rent payments during the pandemic.
The Justice Department moved an emergency order to put Friedrich's decision on hold, arguing, "Evictions are compounding the spread of COVID-19, which has already killed more than half a million Americans, and the public harm of unchecked evictions would, cannot be. " reversed. "
Friedrich agreed to put their decision on hold temporarily and gave the landlord groups who had challenged the moratorium until May 12th the opportunity to submit legal documents against the delay. She stressed that she had not decided on the merits of the government's request.
Friedrich's order gives the Ministry of Justice four days to respond according to the files of the landlord groups.
Friedrich cited the "plain language" of a law called the "Public Health Act" that regulates the federal response to the spread of communicable diseases, despite recognizing that the pandemic is "a serious public health crisis affecting public health." has posed unprecedented challenges to officials and the nation. "
Evictions "exacerbate the spread of COVID-19" and the moratorium "protects many tenants who cannot make their monthly payments due to job loss or health expenses," Brian Boynton, assistant attorney general for the department's civil division, said in a statement.
The White House has estimated that one in five renters had defaulted by January, while the CDC has indicated that more than 4 million adults behind the impending eviction feared.
Friedrich's decision benefits the many landlords who have difficulties paying their own bills because they cannot collect rent.
The CDC moratorium began last September and was due to expire on June 30th. Other courts have divided over its legality, with some also finding that the CDC had exceeded its powers. Friedrich, a representative of former President Donald Trump, was the first to officially block the eviction ban.
At least 43 states and Washington, DC have also temporarily suspended evictions from residential or commercial buildings, although protections are far from uniform.
A "For Rent" sign is posted outside an apartment building in Carlsbad, California, USA on January 18, 2017. REUTERS / Mike BlakeLandlords and real estate groups who challenged the moratorium in court said the CDC did not have the authority to enforce it and illegally deprived it of its rights to deal with criminal tenants.
A separate eviction and foreclosure moratorium on government-funded housing by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development expires on June 30th.
HEALTH MEASURE
The CDC began the moratorium during Trump's presidency and it has been extended three times, most recently in March under his successor Joe Biden. Continue reading
It affected tenants expected to earn less than $ 99,000 per year or $ 198,000 for joint applicants, or who did not report income or received stimulus checks. Tenants also had to swear that they would do their best to pay partial rent and that evictions would likely render them homeless or force them into "shared" living quarters.
The National Association of Realtors welcomed Friedrich's decision, saying programs to help tenants pay rent, taxes and utility bills were preferable to the moratorium.
"Given the secured rent support, the strengthening of the economy and falling unemployment rates, there is no need to continue a blanket nationwide eviction ban," the group said.
The group has estimated 40 million Americans lagged behind on rent in January and $ 70 billion in payments that were missed by the end of 2020.
"We know the eviction is spreading COVID-19, we know it disrupts access to health care, and we know that health inequalities are growing between blacks and Latin Americans," said Emily Benfer, visiting law professor at Wake Forest University and expert in evictions. "The moratorium will stop all this damage."
Congress approved $ 25 billion in emergency rental assistance in December and an additional $ 21.5 billion in March.
Diane Yentel, advocacy president for the National Low Income Housing Coalition, said the moratorium should remain in place at least until Congressional support "reaches the renters who need it."
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