12/07/2021
THE STATUS OF RENTS AND EVICTION
The legislative eviction moratorium, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, expired on July 31, 2021. The House took the issue up attempting to pass legislation extending the moratorium, but were unable to do so before the August Congressional break. Therefore, President Biden issued an Executive Order banning moratoriums for areas with high infections rates. The Supreme Court then ruled that the President did not have authority to act and that this must be a Legislative action instead. In the meantime, the stimulus packages in December 2020 and March 2021 included almost $47 billion in
funding to the States to assist tenants, landlords and utility companies. However, the distribution of these funds had been slow and only bout $10 billion of the funds have been distributed.
Many renters are unaware of the State, County and City programs distributing these Federal funds, but in many cases, these programs have such cumbersome application processes that renters are either unable to complete the application process or it takes 4-6 months for the application to be processed and funds distributed. Some programs require landlords to participate in the process, and many landlords refuse to cooperate.
In the meantime, Landlords are anxious to evict tenants for non-payment of rents. In some cases, the Landlords simply want to re-lease the unit for a higher rental, but in many instances, the Landlords are struggling to pay their mortgages because they are
unable to collect the rents.
While there are many tenants who have lost income due to the pandemic and should not be left without a home, there are other tenants who have maintained their income throughout the pandemic and have chosen to take advantage of the eviction moratorium to not pay their rent.
This issue is being handled by the Courts in a variety of ways throughout the country. In many states, the Courts are not allowing an eviction if the tenant can prove that their
failure to pay is directly due to a loss of income due to the COVID pandemic, and are ordering landlords to work with these tenants. In other states, there is no such leniency and tenants are evicted, regardless of their status.
Another thing to be aware of is that in many areas of the country, where there are no, or limited, rent control laws, landlords are making up for their losses over the past couple of years by rental hikes of 40% or more.
If you, or someone you know, is in need of assistance, the National Low Income Housing Coalition has a state-by-state list of over 500 organizations giving out funds. You can also contact your county or city office of landlord-tenant affairs for information. If you need an attorney, contact your local Bar Association for a list of pro bono or low bono attorneys.
