What’s next for troubled tenants now that the moratorium on evictions has expired?

After a final push by House Democrats to extend federal protection collapsed on Friday, some states and cities are taking matters into their own hands. What happens to troubled tenants next will largely depend on where they live.

Other localities have taken additional measures. For example, in the Atlanta area, DeKalb County Superior Court Chief Justice Asha Jackson filed an emergency order on Friday that would ban evictions in the county for an additional 60 days after the end of the season. federal ban.

“This is where the moratorium on evictions stopped the process in Florida,” said Jeffrey Hussey, director of public interest and litigation at Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida, an organization that covers an area of ​​12 Central Florida counties around Orlando. “Even though a writ of possession had been issued, it prevented the sheriff from giving the tenant 24 hours to leave.”

Now that the ban has expired, Hussey said, the difference between some people with or without a roof over their heads is the pace at which judges and sheriffs act.

What happens during an eviction

Eviction is generally considered to be the physical act of a tenant evicted from their accommodation. But it comes after a complex legal process that can take weeks or months. In some states like Florida, this process has been allowed to continue until the final stage of a tenant’s eviction, while other jurisdictions have halted the eviction process earlier in the process.

Different jurisdictions have different regulations regarding eviction procedures, but generally the process of evicting a tenant for non-payment of rent begins when the landlord sends a “pay or vacate” notice to the tenant. This informs the tenant that they are in violation of the lease. It gives instructions on how much they have to pay and how long they have to pay it before an eviction is filed in court.

If they don’t pay within the specified time – usually three to five days – the landlord can file an eviction complaint with a court that begins the eviction case. The tenant is informed of the case of eviction.

In Florida, tenants’ cases do not go to court until they register the amount of rent they owe with the court office, Hussey said, unless they dispute the amount owed. or there is a procedural problem with the documents.

“Nine out of ten people have no money to deposit. A final judgment is made and the owner wins roughly.”

After that, he said, the judge issues a court order that allows the landlord to take possession of the property by forcing the tenants out and triggers the final stage of the eviction. The local law enforcement agencies notify the tenant of the order.

In Florida, once served, the tenant has 24 hours to leave. After 24 hours, the sheriff or landlord can forcibly evict the tenant and padlock the door. This can be done with or without the tenant’s personal effects inside.

“If you stay beyond 24 hours you could potentially be arrested for trespassing, then you have a whole new set of issues,” Hussey said.

For tenants in Florida who have eviction cases that have already gone to court until the moratorium stopped them, he assumed the first day a tenant is expected to move out would be Wednesday.

What happens without a moratorium on evictions

Without a moratorium on evictions, the focus is more on how judges and law enforcement handle cases.

“How fast the judges are going to act, we can’t control,” Hussey said. “Judges may not want to act quickly on evictions realizing the potential problem this will create, but ultimately they have to comply.”

The best-case scenario, Hussey said, is for judges to consider that tenants have pending emergency rent relief applications. However, nothing in the law obliges a judge to delay or postpone the eviction.

He said the first thing he asks tenants is whether they have asked for emergency rent relief.

“If they haven’t asked for rent relief, that’s number one priority,” he said. “This gives us an argument in court. We can say ‘This person is getting funds through an emergency rental assistance program.’ If they are accepted, the owner will be healed, the judge doesn’t have to consider them, but it’s something we can throw to the wall.

If there is nothing else to slow the process down, he said, there is not much more legally he can do for tenants and he becomes a de facto advisor. .

“People are panicking,” after the legal options are exhausted, he said. “We are trying to help them prepare. They have to think about gathering their things. Think about who they know who has a truck. Does anyone have a storage room you can borrow or a garage? Can you find a place to put a roof over your heads? ”

He said he and his colleagues can make an effort to have this deportation case sealed because in Florida once you get a deportation on your case it is a “scarlet letter to future. owners “.

“We were very grateful for the moratorium on evictions, but it is nothing but a band-aid,” Hussey said. “We have been preparing the end of the moratorium for months now. We now know that Band-Aid is gone so many other systemic issues are going to reveal itself: lack of affordable housing, lack of access to legal representation for tenants. , the lack of a roof over people’s heads after the eviction. “