Are Evictions Legal or Illegal?
On Monday May 3, the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sent a joint letter to landlords entitled: Preventing Illegal Evictions During the COVID-19 Pandemic urging compliance with the eviction moratoria or face regulatory action. And then on Wednesday May 5, a federal judge vacated the nationwide eviction moratorium. Ruling that “the CDC order must be set aside” because it exceeded its authority.
Update 6/30: Supreme Court keeps CDC's eviction moratorium in place
Wednesday 5/5/21
“The question for the Court is a narrow one: Does the Public Health Service Act grant the CDC the legal authority to impose a nationwide eviction moratorium? It does not. Because the plain language of the Public Heath Service Act unambiguously forecloses the nationwide eviction moratorium, the Court must set aside the CDC Order,”
- U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich
Monday 5/3/21
“This letter is to remind you of the federal protections currently in place to protect against certain residential evictions in order to keep people in their homes and stop the spread of COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has extended its national eviction moratorium for non-payment of rent (CDC Moratorium) through June 30, 2021,”
- FTC and CFPB Joint Letter
What does this mean for North Carolina?
The Governor’s October 28, 2020 Executive Order states that the North Carolina moratorium and other protections listed in order', are independent from CDC Order.
The protections stated in this Executive Order are independent from the requirements of the CDC Order and shall be in force regardless of any repeal, recission, amendment, or administrative interpretation of the CDC Order. If any court without jurisdiction over the State of North Carolina enjoins or otherwise blocks or modifies the CDC Order, in whole or in part, this Executive Order shall continue to apply, and this Executive Order shall continue to provide the protections listed in the CDC Order. - Section 5-b
UPDATE 6/24: CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has signed an extension to the eviction moratorium further preventing the eviction of tenants who are unable to make rental payments. The moratorium that was scheduled to expire on June 30, 2021 is now extended through July 31, 2021 and this is intended to be the final extension of the moratorium. - www.cdc.gov