The eviction moratorium ordered by the CDC and DHHS goes into effect on Friday, September 4, 2020. In order to be protected by this eviction moratorium, tenants must meet certain requirements and take certain actions. Here are the most important details that you need to know in order to protect your tenant rights.
While its very title, “Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions to Prevent the Further Spread of Covid-19” makes it absolutely clear that the eviction moratorium ordered by the Center for Disease Control is not a permanent fix for the housing crisis or even the looming pandemic-caused eviction crisis, we welcome the relief that this band-aid will provide millions of renters who are living under the imminent threat of eviction and living with the fear of becoming homeless. Unlike the expired CARES Act eviction moratorium which automatically applied to all rental properties with federally backed mortgages, the protections available to tenants under the new CDC moratorium will not be automatically applied. Tenants will have to take affirmative actions – primarily completing a declaration under penalty of perjury and submitting the declaration to their landlord – in order to get the benefit of the moratorium.
Based on our intial review of the CDC eviction moratorium, here are the major takeaways we think you need to know:
- To be a covered person who is protected under the CDC moratorium, you must meet one of the following financial conditions:
- expect to earn no more than $99,000.00 in annual income for 2020 (no more than $198,000.00 if you file a joint return) OR
- was not required to report any income to the IRS in 2019 OR
- received an Economic Impact Payment (stimulus check) under the CARES Act
If you qualify as a covered person, you must submit a Declaration form to your landlord. The Declaration form will be accessible as an attachment to the order once it is published on Friday, September 4, 2020. By signing the Declaration, the tenant swears, under penalty of perjury, that:
- they have used best efforts to obtain all government assistance available for rent or housing;
- they meet the financial qualifications listed above;
- they are unable to pay the full rent or make a full housing payment because of substantial loss of household income, loss of compensable hours of work or wages, a layoff, or extraordinary out-of-pocket medical expenses;
- they are using their best efforts to make timely partial payments that are as close to the full payment as the individual’s circumstances permit, taking into account other nondiscretionary expenses; and
- eviction would likely render the individual homes – or force the individual to move into and live in close quarters in a new congregate or share living setting – because the individual has not other available housing options.
- Every adult listed on the lease must complete the Declaration and submit it to the landlord.
The order does NOT offer any rent forgiveness or waiver. In fact the language in the order includes the following:
“This Order does not relieve any individual of any obligation to pay rent, make a housing payment, or comply with any other obligation that the individual may have under a tenancy, lease, or similar contract.”
There is one final item in the order that we found noteworthy. While we are skeptical as to whether it will actually be utilized, the order provides for criminal penalties for any person or organization that violates it. A person who commits a violation that does not result in death may be subject to a fine of no more than $100,000.00 or one year in jail, or both. If the violation results in death, the violating person may be subject to a fine of no more than $250,000.00 or one year in jail, or both. If an organization or company violates the order and the violation does not result in death, the company may be subject to a fine of no more than $250,000.00 per event. If the company violates and the violation results in death, then the company may be subject to a fine of no more than $500,000.00 per event.
While this band-aid fix will offer temporary relief for tenants in immediate jeopardy of losing their housing, simply kicking the eviction can down the road until after November’s election is not enough. With the belief that housing is a human right and people should be placed over excessive profits, we have to press our leaders to provide a far more substantive solution to this long term problem.
If you’d like to read the CDC eviction moratorium order, you can access it here https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/09/04/2020-19654/temporary-halt-in-residential-evictions-to-prevent-the-further-spread-of-covid-19. When the order is officially published on Friday, September 4, 2020, we will provide a link to it so that you can access the Declaration. In addition, we suspect that there will be numerous lawsuits filed to challenge the order. Any legal action has the potential to impact the protection tenants can expect. We will continue to monitor and provide updates.