Florida Governor Extends Suspension Of Foreclosures, Evictions
MIAMI, FL — Facing an unprecedented wave of unemployment caused by the coronavirus shutdown, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has extended his earlier order halting all foreclosures and residential evictions.
The governor's original order, which had been in effect until May 17, will now expire at 12:01 a.m. on June 2, according to the extension signed Thursday.
The change essentially gives struggling Floridians an extra 15 days if they are unable to pay their mortgages or rent before their landlords or lenders can take action. The extension does not relieve their obligation to pay. See FL Governor Suspends Foreclosures, Evictions Over Coronavirus
Miami attorney David Winker told Patch the extension will particularly help people who own commercial properties and who haven't been able to collect the full rent from their tenants.
"These mortgage companies, what they want is performing loans," he said. "To me, the purpose of these moratoriums was just to put a hold on everything so when the economy cranks back up, we don't have a court system that is just clogged full of evictions and foreclosures."
While the governor's order doesn't remove the obligation to pay, it does give Floridians additional time to reach agreement with their landlord or lender, particularly as people start to go back to work.
Winker said he represents one commercial property owner who rents out his property to a restaurant that has been unable to meet its monthly $8,500 rent obligation.
"One of the solutions I've been seeing that has been inspiring, is landlords being very honest with tenants," he said. In this case, the landlord accepted $4,500 in rent from the restaurateur, which was enough to pay the mortgage on the property.
"The tenant was like 'yes' and I'm going to open back up because I can sell enough food to make $4,500. I can't make $8,500," Winker explained. "It was kind of inspiring to see people coming together and the landlord saying 'I'm fine with that.'"
The governor's executive order assures no further action will take place on any mortgage foreclosures around the state, including those covered by a nationwide moratorium. Don't miss updates about precautions in Florida as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.
In addition to freezing foreclosure actions, the Florida measure also blocks the evictions of Florida renters for nonpayment of rent in the case of residential renters who have been harmed by the new coronavirus outbreak.
Winker said he has seen a number of condominium associations that are seeking to take the rents of condominium tenants, whose landlords are unable to pay their maintenance fees.
"There is no moratorium on condo fees," the attorney said. "The law gives the homeowners' association the power to intercept that payment."
Winker said the language in the Florida governor's order offers protections to people who lost their jobs as a result of the outbreak, but not directly to the small business owners who rent their premises.
"It's the commercial landlords that are really facing the foreclosure crisis right now," Winker shared. "The 15 extra days prevents them from getting foreclosed on. It doesn't affect the rents."
Even so, Winker said he's not been seeing significant numbers of landlords who want to pursue evictions of commercial tenants. "Eviction is only attractive if I have a new tenant to put in there," he said. "There's no one knocking on the door trying to open a restaurant right now."
The governor's initial order noted the coronavirus health emergency has "impacted the ability of many Floridians" to make timely mortgage and rent payments. A number of Floridians found themselves in difficult positions as April and May rent and mortgage obligations came due.
This article originally appeared on the Sarasota Patch
