The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) extended its moratorium on evictions another month, claiming that it is the last time the agency will do so, preventing landlords from kicking some people out of their properties under certain conditions.
The CDC announced on Thursday that “Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has signed an extension to the eviction moratorium further preventing the eviction of tenants who are unable to make rental payments.”
The moratorium will be extended through July 31, and the CDC stated that “this is intended to be the final extension of the moratorium.”
As reported by CNBC, the White House has taken several actions to attempt to help homeowners, tenants, and property managers. Landlords, however, especially those who run smaller businesses, continue to struggle as the government allows people to forego their payments.
The issue has made its way through the court system where some judges have ruled that the eviction moratorium is unenforceable, or that the CDC does not have the power to take such action.
Earlier this month, California Attorney General Rob Bonta “joined a coalition of 23 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) eviction moratorium,” according to California’s Justice Department.
It explained that last month, “the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the CDC had overstepped its authority in imposing the eviction moratorium, but stayed its decision, keeping the moratorium in place pending appeal to prevent harm to renters. Shortly after, the Alabama Association of Realtors filed an emergency application to vacate the stay with the U.S. Supreme Court.”
The attorney general, along with several other states, asked the Supreme Court to allow the moratorium to exist in order to protect renters.
As reported by The Daily Wire in March, the CDC extended its suggested moratorium on evictions through the end of June, causing some landlords at the time to struggle to keep up with costs. The conclusion of the moratorium could have been a potential lifeline to landlords at the end of June, but the CDC’s newest order means that landlords must hold on for another month.
As reported by local outlet WXYZ Detroit, landlords explained why rent prices have been increasing for tenants.
“We struggled along with everyone else in the pandemic,” Deborah Collins said, who manages 25 apartments and rental homes.
“We canceled all late fees for the year, we worked on payment plans for any residents that were behind,” she added.
She said that the eviction moratorium meant that landlords had to permit tenants not to pay rent for months. “A lot of housing providers are trying to recoup those losses, and are doing it with a rental price hike,” Collins noted.
Democratic lawmakers have been pushing for the moratorium to not only continue, but be enhanced. As The Associated Press reported earlier this week, “dozens of members of Congress wrote to Biden and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky calling for the moratorium to be not only extended but also strengthened in some ways.”
“The letter, spearheaded by Democratic Reps. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Jimmy Gomez of California, and Cori Bush of Missouri called for an unspecified extension in order to allow the nearly $47 billion in emergency rental assistance included in the American Rescue Plan to get into the hands of tenants,” the outlet noted.
“The impact of the federal moratorium cannot be understated, and the need to strengthen and extend it is an urgent matter of health, racial, and economic justice,” the letter said.