Biden Administration Extends Federal Eviction Moratorium For Renters And Homeowners Until July 31

Agency says this is intended to be a final extension

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WASHINGTON, D.C. – The national eviction moratorium has been extended until the end of July, and this may be the final extension.

The extension was signed by Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on Thursday with the aim of preventing the eviction of Americans who are unable to make their rent payments due to the epidemic.

The moratorium was supposed to end on June 30, but it has been extended until July 31.

A Denver-based non-profit provides financial help to Black women in Colorado who are experiencing financial hardship.

“The COVID-19 epidemic has posed a historic threat to public health in the United States. Preventing evictions is a vital step in helping to stop the spread of COVID-19 by keeping people in their homes and out of crowded or communal situations — such as homeless shelters.

According to the CDC, this is the final extension of the moratorium.

Following the announcement, the Biden administration announced that the “foreclosure moratorium for federally-backed mortgages will be extended for one more month, until July 31.”

The foreclosure moratorium is in effect through the end of next month for any mortgage backed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Agriculture, or Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

After the embargo is lifted, the administration said those agencies will engage with borrowers on affordable mitigation measures to establish “home retention solutions.”

The moratoriums were first implemented by the Trump administration in 2020 when the United States was beset by a coronavirus outbreak. Many people are concerned about tenants who are unable to pay what they owe in accumulated back rent after some have not paid for months.

During a press briefing on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki addressed the moratorium, saying it “was always intended to be temporary.”

“And the president is still focused on ensuring that Americans who are struggling due to no fault of their own have a way out once the government shutdown is over. As a result, we’ve worked to take further steps to guarantee that people, whether renters or homeowners, get the help they need to stay in their homes “Psaki stated.

According to the CDC, this is the final extension of the moratorium.

The CDC said on Thursday that it has approved a 30-day extension to the eviction moratorium, which prevents eviction of renters who have been unable to make payments for more than a year since the COVID-19 outbreak hit the country.

According to a press release from the CDC, this is the final extension of the moratorium.

“The COVID-19 epidemic has posed a historic threat to public health in the United States. Preventing evictions is a vital step in helping to reduce the spread of COVID-19 by keeping people in their homes and out of crowded or communal situations like homeless shelters “According to the press release.

The White House also announced that the federally supported mortgage foreclosure moratorium would be extended for one more month, until July 31.

After numerous prominent progressive Democrats on Capitol Hill encouraged the White House and the CDC to prolong and expand the federal eviction moratorium, the extensions were granted. 44 House Democrats, including Reps. Ayanna Pressley, D-Massachusetts, Cori Bush, D-Mo., Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, sent a letter late Monday urging President Joe Biden and the CDC to act before the deadline.

“Allowing the moratorium to expire before vaccination rates in vulnerable populations rise could result in higher COVID-19 dissemination and mortality,” they said.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition, a non-profit dedicated to affordable housing, praised the decision and what it called the administration’s “whole-of-government approach.”

“These steps by the White House provide a vital lifeline to millions of tenants who are behind on their rent and face eviction after the moratorium expires,” the organization stated in a statement.

In addition to extending the moratoriums, the White House announced that it will hold a summit of local teams to develop eviction-prevention action plans, that Treasury will issue new guidance for the Emergency Rental Assistance or ERA, that the Department of Justice will send guidance on anti-eviction diversion practices, and that the White House will raise awareness across agencies about emergency rental assistance, a program that helps low-income people avoid eviction.

“One of the things we recognized in getting out the funding in a post-moratorium world is that there must be anti-eviction diversionary policies in place at state and local levels, policies that discourage or rush to evictions and encourage mediations to encourage people to use the $46 billion in emergency rental assistance,” a White House official said.

According to the Census Bureau, approximately 7 million American households, including nearly 4 million with children, are late on their rent. According to the Census Bureau, black and Latino households are more likely than white households to be behind and currently struggling.

Renters must earn no more than $99,000 in annual income for the calendar year 2020-2021, or $198,000 for couples filing jointly, among other statements of hardship to the government, to be eligible for the protection.

Local governments and landlord associations have frequently challenged the ban in court, claiming that the CDC overstepped its powers and lacked a mechanism for enforcing the regulation. Still, more than 20 state attorneys general urged the Supreme Court earlier this month to keep the moratorium in place while those cases make their way through the courts. Local property owners and a group of real estate agents in Alabama have said the halt will “prolong the severe financial burdens” on those collecting rent payments.

The renewal of the eviction moratorium is “the correct thing to do – morally, fiscally, politically, and as an ongoing public health measure,” according to Diane Yentel, head of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

Landlords, on the other hand, who had opposed the moratorium and had challenged it in court, were opposed to any extension. They say that the focus should be on increasing the speed with which rental assistance is distributed.