The Biden administration will extend the federal eviction moratorium, currently set to expire June 30, by one month, according to Route Fifty.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued the public health-driven eviction moratorium, which has provided security for the nation’s 43 million renters, in September. As previously reported on Conduit Street, It has been extended twice since then.
According to Route Fifty:
The moratorium has come under attack from landlords and realtors who say it has shifted financial hardships from renters to apartment owners who have gotten no such financial reprieve. The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing a petition from landlords asking that the moratorium be struck down.
Housing advocates have asked the Biden administration to keep the eviction ban in place longer while cities and states work to distribute emergency rental assistance to renters who have fallen behind on payments during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Maryland General Assembly considered, but did not pass, legislation to codify Maryland’s current policy staving off evictions of lease-holding tenants, and advocates worry that may open the door to widespread “failure to pay” evictions.
Among the subjects of extensive government assistance has been renter relief – seeking to avoid massive tenant evictions while many Americans have lost their regular incomes due to economic disruptions of the pandemic. The rights of tenants “holding over” after the expiration of a lease are fewer than those holding a lease, and advocates argue they may be especially vulnerable to eviction, even during the ongoing pandemic, and even while federal and state laws tout a “moratorium” on eviction proceedings.
Advocates had hoped that HB 1312 would pass in a form designed to protect tenants holding over from eviction when a property owner receives governmental assistance. MACo and county housing and social service leaders had joined along with a coalition advocating for amendments to the bill.
Stay tuned to Conduit Street more for more information.