03/25/2020
Questions on tenant evictions and COVID-19
We have received several questions regarding evictions during the COVID-19 outbreak and thought we would share what we’ve learned.
You may have heard or read that President Trump ordered the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to stop all evictions and foreclosures. This is a bit misleading because that order only affects those mortgages guaranteed by the federal government through their various programs, such as Fair Housing Authority (FHA) loans. This means that HUD will not evict any homeowner who is unable to make their mortgage payments. This may also extend to landlords with an FHA mortgage by forcing them to not evict a tenant in their property. This does not stop any landlord from starting eviction proceedings if their mortgage is not guaranteed by HUD. For example, none of our mortgages are guaranteed by HUD, so federal moratoriums on evictions do not affect our businesses.
As of this date in Wisconsin, there have been no moratoriums established that waive or postpone rent payments or put a stay on any eviction action. From a practical perspective, we can expect that there will be no evictions heard in court before May 1, 2020. This is because these cases are held in person and social distancing and travel restrictions will likely cause the courts to postpone lower court cases like evictions until at least after the April 24, 2020 expiration date of Gov. Evers’ Stay-At-Home emergency order signed on March 24.
It is also important to note that any eviction moratorium at the federal or state level will only deal with inability to pay rent due to impact to income from the COVID-19 emergency. These possible moratoriums will not likely include other eviction actions for breach of contract, nuisance, drug use/manufacture/distributing, and abuse/sex related offenses.
Although evictions will probably not be prosecuted before May 1, we expect all of our residents to continue making timely rent payments, or contact us with a plan to make payments, in order to avoid eviction action. Every landlord is different and deals with this type of situation differently. We are committed to working hard to keep our residents in their properties by trying to develop a payment plan that works for both parties; however, there may be some cases where no progress has been made prior to the COVID-19 emergency where we will be forced to start eviction proceedings to protect our businesses and our investors.
An eviction on your record is something that will negatively affect your ability to get housing in the next three to seven years, depending on how far back each landlord looks. If you are accepted by a landlord with an eviction on your record, you may have to provide a significantly increased security deposit before moving into their property. Do everything you can to avoid an eviction. Talk to your landlord, come up with a plan, and stick to it.
