Download(link is external) (PDF: 857 KB)
NAR has always maintained that the best solution for all parties whose housing was impacted by COVID-19 was rental assistance to cover the rent, taxes, and utility bills for tenants struggling during the pandemic. This prevents two crises—one for tenants, and one for mom-and-pop housing providers who do not have a reprieve from their bills. With rental assistance secured, the economy strengthening, and unemployment rates falling, there is no need to continue a blanket, nationwide eviction ban. Our focus now is on the swift and full implementation of rental assistance as we aim to regain stability and normalcy in America’s housing market.
On August 3, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a fourth extension of the eviction moratorium, effective through October 3, 2021. The previous order expired on July 31, 2021, and the most recent order states the expiration is subject to revision based on the changing public health landscape.
With NAR’s support, the Alabama and Georgia Associations of REALTORS® (Plaintiffs), who originally filed a lawsuit against the CDC in November 2020 on behalf of housing providers nationwide, again challenged the latest extension. An emergency motion was filed on August 4, 2021, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking enforcement of the June 29th U.S. Supreme Court Order that stated the CDC could not extend the moratorium beyond July 31st, without congressional authorization via new legislation.
On August 13, 2021, after holding a hearing on the motion, the D.C. District Court denied the plaintiffs’ motion to lift the stay of the District Court’s order pending appeal, thereby leaving the CDC’s extension of the eviction moratorium in place. While the D.C. District Court felt bound by the D.C. Circuit Court’s judgement upholding the stay, the court also recognized that the Supreme Court and other federal appellate courts “call into the question the D.C. Circuit’s conclusion that the CDC is likely to succeed on the merits . . . [and] absent the D.C. Circuit’s judgement, this Court would vacate the stay.”
The plaintiffs immediately appealed the District Court’s decision to the D.C. Circuit on August 14, 2021, and anticipate that the D.C. Circuit Court will rule quickly.
Note that this most recent activity does not change the May 5, 2021 ruling, in which the D.C. District Court struck down the CDC’s nationwide eviction ban, concluding the moratorium exceeded the limits Congress placed on the CDC’s authority. Following its ruling, however, the District Court granted a stay of its order pending the governments appeal, meaning the moratorium remained in place. The Georgia and Alabama Association of REALTORS®’ lawsuit asked the Supreme Court to lift that stay after the D.C. Circuit Court upheld it in June, which was denied. The D.C. District Court held the most recent August 3rd extension of the eviction moratorium is a continuation of the previous orders, and thus subject to the stay issued by the court in May and subsequently upheld by the higher courts.
After the D.C. Circuit Court rules on plaintiffs’ current motion to vacate the stay pending appeal, there will likely be more appeals. Therefore, housing providers should not take any immediate action based these initial rulings until the issue is more clearly resolved.