The Supreme Court made the decision that the moratorium on evictions was to expire at the end of July. But now, the White House is calling on Congress to extend it once again.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in his opinion that “the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention exceeded its existing statutory authority by issuing a nationwide eviction moratorium.”
Justice Kavanaugh also stated, “Because the CDC plans to end the moratorium in only a few weeks, on July 31, and because those few weeks will allow for additional and more orderly distribution of the congressionally appropriated rental assistance funds, I vote at this time to deny the application to vacate the District Court’s stay of its order.”
He had previously noted that clear and specific authorization through new legislation would now be necessary for the CDC to extend the moratorium past July 31st.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement to The Hill, “Given the recent spread of the delta variant, including among those Americans both most likely to face evictions and lacking vaccinations, President Biden would have strongly supported a decision by the CDC to further extend this eviction moratorium to protect renters at this moment of heightened vulnerability.”
And then Psaki added, “Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has made clear that this option is no longer available.”
Because of the Supreme Court ruling, President Biden is asking Congress to extend the eviction moratorium to protect vulnerable renters and their families without a delay. Psaki said that the evictions ban is “a critical backstop to prevent hard-pressed renters and their families who lost jobs or income due to the COVID-19 pandemic from being evicted for nonpayment of rent.”
According to the Washington Post, the Democratic leaders have already started canvassing the chamber for votes on Thursday. They want to determine if they had enough support to extend the moratorium until December 31st. Apparently, the Democrats hope to bring up the new measure before departing at the end of this week.
Psaki also noted that Biden is urging local regions to “urgently accelerate” emergency rental assistance funds availability from a prior federal package.
The White House Speaker said, “The Administration remains committed to doing everything in its power to keep people safely and securely housed, which is essential to the health, well-being, and dignity of all of us.”
Last month it was reported by The Daily Wire that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that “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.”
When the moratorium was extended through July 31, the CDC announced that “this is intended to be the final extension of the moratorium.”
According to CNBC, the White House has already taken several actions to try to help homeowners, tenants, and property managers. But landlords continue to have trouble as the government allows people to withhold their payments.
The moratorium on evictions was first extended until June which caused some landlords to struggle to keep up with costs. If it had ended in June, it would have been a lifeline for landlords. Then it was extended again until the end of July, which increased tensions for landlords.
In Detroit, local news outlet WXYZ reported that landlords explained why rent prices have been increasing for tenants.
“We struggled along with everyone else in the pandemic,” Deborah Collins said, who manages 25 apartments and rental homes.
“We canceled all late fees for the year, we worked on payment plans for any residents that were behind,” she added.
Collins also said that the eviction moratorium meant that landlords had to allow tenants not to pay rent for months. “A lot of housing providers are trying to recoup those losses, and are doing it with a rental price hike,” Collins noted.
