Blog Viewer

Updated: CDC Issues Order Temporarily Halting Residential Evictions

By Noah C. Hagan posted 09-03-2020 16:50

  

On January 29, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an order extending its previous order, dated September 1, 2020, halting certain residential evictions through March 31, 2021. The new order cites 42 CFR 70.2 as authority. The order’s stated objectives are as follows:

  • mitigating the spread of COVID-19 within shared living settings or through unsheltered homelessness;
  • mitigating the spread of COVID-19 from one state or territory to another; and
  • supporting response efforts to COVID-19 at the federal, state, and local levels.

Under the order, a landlord or owner of a residential property may not evict any “covered person” from any residential property in any state or U.S. territory where there are documented cases of COVID-19 that provides a level of public-health protections below the requirements listed in the September order. A “covered person” is any tenant, lessee, or resident who provides to their landlord a declaration of the following:

  • they have used their best efforts to obtain government assistance for rent;
  • they expect to earn no more than $99,000 in calendar year 2021, were not required to report any income in 2020, or received a stimulus check under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act;
  • they are unable to pay the full rent because of a substantial loss of income, reduced work hours, layoff, or extraordinary out-of-pocket medical expenses;
  • they are using their best efforts to make timely partial payments as close to the full payment as circumstances permit taking into account other nondiscretionary expenses; and
  • eviction would likely render them homeless or force them to move into and live in close quarters in a shared housing situation.

A sample declaration is attached to the previous order.

The order notes that it has no effect on the contractual obligations to pay rent and does not preclude charging or collecting fees, penalties, or interest as a result of failure to pay timely rent.

The order provides that persons violating the order may be subject to a fine of up to $100,000 ($250,000 if the violation results in death), one year in jail, or both.

0 comments
50 views

Permalink