April 1, 2021
By: Dwayne Page
The Biden administration has announced a three-month extension to a national eviction moratorium, a move designed to help millions of tenants who have fallen behind on their rent even as courts have disagreed on whether the relief is legal.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended the eviction moratorium through June 30. It had been set to expire Wednesday, March 31
The moratorium, which originated from an executive order signed by then-President Donald Trump in September, protects tenants who have missed monthly rent payments from being thrown out of their homes if they declare financial hardship.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has presented a historic threat to the nation’s public health,” the White House said in a press release Monday. “Keeping people in their homes and out of crowded or congregate settings—like homeless shelters—by preventing evictions is a key step in helping to stop the spread of Covid-19.”
A series of conflicting court rulings have called into question the legality of the moratorium. At least three federal judges—in Tennessee, Ohio and Texas—have ruled the moratorium is unlawful. The Justice Department is appealing those cases.
This ruling will continue to affect landlords and tenants in DeKalb County.
“The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) last year put down a nationwide moratorium on detainer actions along with the Supreme Court. The thinking was that this was no time to put somebody out on the sidewalk (eviction) because of the financial strain COVID has been on so many people although I understand it is also a financial strain on landlords because many of them owe on their rental property and the banks are looking for payment every month and if the renters are not paying its putting a real burden on them,” said General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge Bratten Cook, II in a previous statement in January.
“For those landlords who have rental property that consists of single family homes or residential property, there can be no detainer actions heard at all until at least July 1. Tenants are still obligated under the Supreme Court order to continue paying rent but there currently can’t be any detainer action and consequently no writs of possession where the sheriff comes out and actually moves someone out. That only applies to rental property that is used for residential purposes. That does not apply to business rental property,” Judge Cook said.