[ad_1]
WASHINGTON (AP) – Biden administration extends federal moratorium on evictions of tenants who have fallen behind on rent during coronavirus pandemic.
On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decided to continue protection against the pandemic, which was set to expire on Wednesday. The moratorium is now extended until the end of June.
The ban, initially implemented last year, offers protection to tenants, fearing that families losing their homes and moving into shelters or sharing crowded conditions with relatives or friends during the pandemic would further spread the highly contagious virus, which has killed more than 545,000 people in the USA.
To be eligible for housing protection, renters must earn $ 198,000 per year or less for couples filing jointly, or $ 99,000 for singles; demonstrate that they have requested government assistance to pay the rent; say they cannot pay due to the hardships of COVID-19; and claim that they are likely to become homeless if evicted.
In February, President Joe Biden extended the ban on foreclosures to June 30 to help homeowners struggling during the pandemic.
Housing advocates generally expected the moratorium on tenant evictions to be extended and lobbied the Biden administration, saying it was too early in the country’s economic recovery to let the ban expire.
John Pollock, coordinator of the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Legal Assistance, said the moratorium “is vital to ensure that there is sufficient time for emergency housing assistance to be provided for. Congress reaches the millions of needy tenants who would otherwise be evicted ”.
Pollack said current polls show 18.4% of all renters owe rent arrears. That number also revealed a significant racial disparity: the percentage of black tenants behind on their rent was 32.9%.
But Pollock and other housing advocates have been disappointed that Biden simply extended the ban without addressing several issues that put many tenants at risk of eviction.
“In Massachusetts, judges have given the green light to more than 1,700 evictions under the federal moratorium on evictions. While it protects some families, it clearly doesn’t protect everyone, ”said Denise Matthews-Turner, Acting CEO of City Life / Vida Urbana, a community housing justice organization in Boston. “The extension is a good thing, but it is disappointing that the moratorium has not also been tightened to prevent families from falling through the cracks, such as families with no-fault evictions or whose owners will not accept. rent relief. ”
Diane Yentel, chair of the National Coalition for Low-Income Housing, said she and others had pushed for the ban’s protections to be automatic and universal. Currently, tenants must actively take steps to invoke the protections of the ban, which can lead to exploitation of those who do not know their rights or understand the process.
Additionally, some jurisdictions have allowed homeowners to initiate the eviction process in court, a tactic that has scared many families to leave rather than having the eviction process, however incomplete, on their files.
“While the Biden administration is well aware of the loopholes in the moratorium order that allows certain evictions to take place during the pandemic, the CDC director has not corrected them,” Yentel said.
Instead, the CDC “simply extended President Trump’s original order, leaving loopholes and loopholes in place, a disappointing move that will lead to more nefarious evictions during the pandemic,” she said.
Pollock said the moratorium should also include a provision guaranteeing tenants the right to a lawyer, “so that they can use rent assistance effectively and fight the growing wave of illegal evictions.”
Isabel Miranda, who has a deportation hearing next month in Massachusetts, had mixed feelings about the extension. She fears the courts and the landlord won’t recognize the federal moratorium, but also appreciates that the ban gives her time to find nearly $ 10,000 in rent arrears for a one-bedroom apartment she shares with her partner. and her two children.
“It’s good news. This is something that we have at least in our defense to prevent homelessness, ”she said. “It gives us more hope that we will have time to navigate the rental assistance that is provided.”
Homeowners in several states have sued to have the ordinance overturned, arguing it was causing them financial hardship and infringing on their property rights. They remain opposed to any extension, saying it does nothing to address the financial issues facing tenants and landlords.
There are at least six major lawsuits challenging the authority of the CDC ban. So far, three judges have sided with the ban and three have spoken against it, with all cases currently under appeal. A Memphis judge declared the CDC order inapplicable throughout the Western Tennessee District.
Chuck Fowke, president of the National Home Builders Association, said he was “disappointed that the administration continues to push this illegal and ill-conceived policy.”
Fowke said in a statement that the government was adopting a short-term solution by “making landlords responsible for providing free housing during this pandemic.”
___
Casey reported from Boston.
[ad_2]
Source link