CDC ISSUES RESIDENTIAL EVICTION MORATORIUM

On Friday, September 4, 2020 the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will publish an order that is certain to create obstacles for landlords when pursuing residential evictions..  Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 264 and 42 C.F.R. 70.72, the CDC will order that a landlord owner of a residential property shall not evict any covered person from their residential tenancy. This Moratorium would remain in effect through December 31, 2020.
A “covered person” is a tenant lessee, or resident who provides to their landlord a declaration that: 1) The individual has used best efforts to obtain all available government assistance for rent or housing; 2) the individual either (i) expects to earn no more than $99,000.00 in annual income for calendar year 2020 (or no more than $198,000.00 if filing a joint tax return), (ii) was not required to report any income in 2019 to the IRS or (iii) received an economic impact payment (stimulus check) under the Cares Act; 3) the individual is unable to pay the full rent or make a full housing payment due to a substantial loss of household income, loss of compensable hours of work or wages, a layoff, or extraordinary out of pocket medical expenses; 4) the individual was using best efforts to make timely partial payments that are as close to the fully payment as the individual’s circumstances may permit; and 5) eviction would likely render the individual homeless or force the individual to move into and live in close quarters in an new congregate or shared living setting because the individual has no other available housing options.
The purpose of the order is really derived from the last requirement in the declaration, that is to prevent people from moving either out of State or into other people’s homes during the state of pandemic.  The Moratorium would not apply to eviction for reasons outside of COVID related job loss or income loss.
In order to seek the protection of the order the tenant would need to execute a declaration under penalty of perjury and provide it to their landlord.  Any landlord proceeding against the declaration may be subject to the imposition of a monetary fine under 18 U.S.C. 3559, 3571; 42 U.S.C. 271.
If you have any questions or comments about how this order may impact your rights in an eviction, please contact Mike Sandner or one of the litigation attorneys at Pickrel, Schaeffer and Ebeling Co., L.P.A (www.pselaw.com).