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Federal Moratoriums Extended – What This Means For Landlords
By January 6, 2021 Posted in Landlord/Tenant Law Share
As you may be aware, the Federal Stimulus Package, signed by President Trump on December 27, 2020, has temporarily extended the CDC Eviction Moratorium. The passage in Stimulus Package states as follows:
SEC. 502. EXTENSION OF EVICTION MORATORIUM.
The order issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under section 361 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 264), entitled, “Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions To Prevent the Further Spread of COVID-19” (85 Fed. Reg. 55292 (September 4, 2020) is extended through January 31, 2021, notwithstanding the effective dates specified in such Order.
It is important to note that, while this law was passed by the House and Senate, the constitutional issues, previously presented in the initial CDC order, will not come into effect here. Thus, the CDC order is, in essence, extended until January 31, 2021.
In addition, the most recent HUD order, through the FHA, only affects homes and buildings with FHA-backed mortgages (e.g., loans backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac). This temporary CDC extension would thus cease all “evictions of persons from properties securing FHA-insured Single Family mortgages…” More notably, the order indicates that it “applies to the initiation of foreclosures and to the completion of foreclosures in process.”
Given that, while the order is meant to apply to foreclosures, not apartment evictions, should a property owner have an FHA-insured single family mortgage, then this order would likely restrict them from evicting until after February 28, 2021.
Lastly, it should be noted that while the CDC order temporarily prevents a landlord from evicting a tenant, the order is not meant to restrict a landlord from filing an eviction and beginning the process to evict a tenant once the moratorium is lifted. The language of the law clearly states:
The Order is not intended to terminate or suspend the operations of any state or local court. Nor is it intended to prevent landlords from starting eviction proceeds, provided that the actual eviction of a covered person for non-payment of rent does NOT take place during the period of the Order.
We at Griffin Alexander, P.C. are prepared to assist your organization in determining if and how this law will affect you and we will strive to ensure that your organization’s goals are met.
The information in this Client Alert is provided solely for information purposes. It should not be construed as legal advice on any specific matter and is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship. The information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular circumstances. Each legal matter is unique, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
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