Thousands in Central Florida at risk after Supreme Court halts eviction moratorium
Thousands of Central Florida renters now face the threat of homelessness after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a national eviction ban late Thursday, ending protections that had sheltered them during the COVID-19 pandemic and its recent delta variant surge.
The nation’s highest court ruled that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention overstepped its authority in halting evictions, relying on “a decades-old statute that authorizes it to implement measures like fumigation and pest extermination.” Despite the CDC’s worthy intentions — stopping the spread of the virus — the court’s majority held that only Congress has the power to enact an eviction moratorium.
It also found the ban unfair to property owners who have gone more than a year without rental payments.
“The moratorium has put ... millions of landlords across the country at risk of irreparable harm by depriving them of rent payments with no guarantee of eventual recovery,” the court wrote in its 6-3 ruling. “Despite the CDC’s determination that landlords should bear a significant financial cost of the pandemic, many landlords have modest means.”
The moratorium had been scheduled to expire Aug. 3. The court’s ruling strikes it down immediately.
In Orange County alone, the decision opens the door for thousands of pending cases to move forward.
“We know there are a large number of evictions that have already been filed and have made it through the court process, all the way up to the [final stage],” said Jeffrey Hussey, director of public interest and litigation for Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida. “Those are just one pen stroke away from getting served on tenants and then they’ll have 24 hours to get out.”
The ruling comes as millions of dollars in federal rental assistance remains unspent, despite the urgent warnings of advocates for low-income residents.
“I think the decision is all the more disappointing because only 11% of the dollars that Congress has allocated for rental assistance has been distributed,” said Jeff Hayward, president and CEO of the Heart of Florida United Way. “That means the federal and state government are sitting on 89% of the dollars that Congress has appropriated for this crisis. That, in itself, is a shame.”
Even with the moratorium in place, the United Way’s 211 hotline saw a 26% jump in callers asking about homeless shelters in the second quarter of the year.
“Our guess is that these are families who were denied rental assistance, or quite frankly they’ve just given up, and they know their eviction is probably imminent,” Hayward said.
The CDC’s moratorium, initially enacted in September 2020, was initially set to expire three months later. Congress then extended the moratorium through January 2021 and President Joe Biden further extended it through March, June, and July, while the administration provided $46.5 billion for emergency rental assistance. The moratorium lapsed on July 31 but, with a dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases, the CDC announced on Aug. 3 a limited ban through October 3. It covered communities with high COVID transmission rates, including all of Florida and an estimated 80% of all U.S. counties.
A coalition of landlords and real estate trade groups in Alabama and Georgia challenged the latest extension. The group was widely expected to prevail.
“To be honest, I was in shock when I saw the CDC moratorium the first time,” Hussey said. “I thought it was very creative thinking by the administration to come up with that. And quite frankly, I was surprised it lasted as long as it did. Of course, I had hoped that the emergency rental assistance would have reached more people by now.”
Still, he urged eligible renters who haven’t yet applied to do so now. Landlords may agree to work with someone who is at least attempting to make payments, he said.
Note: If you are currently facing eviction and live in Central Florida, contact Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida at 1-800-405-1417 to find out if you’re eligible for free legal guidance. Residents in Orange County can also contact the local Legal Aid Society at 407-841-8310. Seminole County residents can call 407-834-1660.
