Tonight, at the urging of the Biden Administration, the Centers for Disease Control issued a new eviction moratorium through October 3 for areas of the country with high or substantial rates of COVID infection. This action is a complete reversal of the Administration’s stated course announced just last week, including the perceived constitutional barriers to a CDC moratorium. The current order is estimated to currently include 80% of counties and 90% of the renter population according to officials.
NMHC will provide additional analysis on the order tomorrow. However, the biggest takeaway is that the application of the moratorium is a moving target based on the level of COVID infection in a given county as tracked by the CDC. The moratorium can only be lifted if an area no longer experiences substantial or high rates of transmission for 14 consecutive days, but it can be reinstated if an area returns to a high-risk designation.
NMHC has been interfacing with the White House officials overseeing the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) on a regular basis over the past month, strenuously opposing any eviction moratoriums and identifying the myriad obstacles states and cities have enacted that are preventing the nearly $47 billion in rental assistance from being distributed expeditiously.
In a statement tonight, NMHC made it clear that this moratorium is completely unacceptable, legally questionable and continues to put an unsustainable, unfair economic burden on millions of housing providers—jeopardizing their financial stability and threatening the loss of affordable housing stock nationwide.
We made the case – and will continue to – that since the onset of the pandemic our industry has stepped up to support their residents through payment plans, deferred payments or other solutions. And now firms are diverting, and even hiring, new staff to inform residents about the rental assistance available and help them apply.
It’s unacceptable to ask housing providers to continue carrying this financial burden. . It is time for Congress, the Administration and the states to step up and accelerate the distribution of the nearly $47 billion in federal rental assistance and end the federal eviction moratorium. Despite receiving the first tranche of $25 billion back in December, only $3 billion had been distributed by the end of June, and reports of delays and unnecessary obstacles persist in localities across the country. Moreover, this action fails to acknowledge the role of continued eviction moratoriums in undermining the distribution of these assistance funds.
We know this is an unreasonable burden for you to continue to carry and we will continue to not only oppose this move, but also to loudly beat the drum that the answer to this housing crisis is expediting rental assistance and not creating eviction moratoriums.
As a reminder, resources for renters are available here, and housing providers here.
— Doug Bibby, NMHC President
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