Covid continues to significantly impact the housing market as evictions have been halted due to a national moratorium that was implemented on September 4, 2020. The effect of the moratorium continues to challenge landlords and renters, and likely will continue to do so until the pandemic comes to an end with a vaccine.
Adam Almeida, President and CEO of TenantScreeningUSA.com opines: “The national eviction moratorium is beginning to face challenges as lawsuits across the country start to emerge.”
From Beacon-Journal.com on November:
Numerous struggling tenants have been spared since a national eviction moratorium took effect Sept. 4. Now a group of landlords, including the most aggressive filer of evictions in Akron during this pandemic, is fighting to get rid of it.
Federal lawsuits filed in Georgia and Ohio are the first of more to come as landlords seek to overturn an order by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to prevent homelessness and COVID-19 spread by halting many evictions through Dec. 31. (1)
Almeida states: “Evictions will continue to challenge landlords and property managers. Subsequently, laws are bound to continue to evolve regarding the use of eviction.”
From the Washington Post website on October 12, 2020:
Landlords, apartment owners and housing industry groups have unleashed a barrage of legal challenges against the Trump administration’s order protecting renters from eviction, leaving millions of families once again facing the risk of homelessness in the middle of a deadly pandemic.
Over the past month, an array of lawyers and lobbyists have inundated federal, state and local courts. They have sought to stop renters from invoking the federal ban, and in some cases, they’ve tried to quash the policy altogether, arguing that the government did not have the authority to issue it in the first place. (2)
Should any lawsuit prevail and eliminate the federal eviction moratorium the impact would be immediate.
From Bloomberg’s City Lab section on October 22, 2020:
Such a decision could trigger a surge in evictions: More than 6 million households missed their rent or mortgage payment in September, according to an analysis by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Recent surveys by the Census Bureau show that as many as 11 million people living in rental housing — 1 in 6 adult tenants — were late or behind on rent as of last month. Other studies show that the ranks of people living in poverty have grown by some 8 million people after increases to the social safety net in the spring were allowed to lapse. (3)
Almeida concludes: “Landlords and property managers should take immediate note when there is significant legal action that will have a broad impact on their business. A best practice remains to work with a well-qualified third-party tenant screening agency, such as TenantScreeningUSA.com, in order to remain compliant with all laws governing tenant screening.”
TenantScreeningUSA.com provides full-service tenant screening for landlords and property managers of any size and can greatly assist in remaining fully compliant with all existing law governing tenant screening. With a highly trained and experienced staff, TenantScreeningUSA.com can provide help to landlords and property managers with all their tenant screening needs.
Notes:
(1) beaconjournal.com/story/news/2020/11/03/cdc-eviction-moratorium-threatened-landlords/6071470002/
(2) washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/10/12/trump-renter-eviction-moratorium-lawsuits/
(3) bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-22/landlords-launch-legal-attack-on-cdc-eviction-ban
