House Votes to Extend and Expand Federal Eviction Moratorium
| . Posted in News - 6 Comments
By Peter Vickery, Esq., Legislative Affairs Counsel
In March of 2020, Congress enacted the CARES Act, which established an eviction moratorium that is set to expire on July 25 and covers about one-third of the country’s rental housing.
An excerpt from page 962, section 4024, Temporary Moratorium on Eviction Filings, HEROES Act. CC BY-SA USCongress.gov
In May, the House of Representatives voted in favor of a bill titled the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, which would both extend the moratorium’s duration to 12 months and expand its scope to cover all rental properties in the United States.
The bill is lengthy (1,815 pages). The provisions about the eviction moratorium start at page 961 in section 110203 of Division K, Title II (titled “Protecting Renters and Homeowners from Evictions and Foreclosures”).
For a period of 12 months after enactment, it would prohibit “legal action to recover possession of the covered dwelling from the tenant for nonpayment of rent or other fees or charges.” Unlike the “covered dwelling” of the CARES Act, the term “covered dwelling” in HEROES means dwellings covered by section 802 of the federal Fair Housing Act, i.e., all rental units.
The bill now goes to the Senate.
This is morally wrong- landlords shouldn’t have their rights stripped and he expected to financial house families- if the government wants to pay the cost okay but don’t force hard working families to support other families- this is wrong!!!
I feel sick to my stomach right now.
I agree that this is wrong! Where are landlords PROTESTING this via walks/marches/signs/petitions??? Do we take this sitting down and do NOTHING? What should landlords be penalized?
Giving relief to RENTERS while screwing Landlords….can’t be legal!
This is an UNJUST LAW.
Is MassLndlords FIGHTING THIS??
If renters have income, it should be going to their rent payments. It’s a practical matter where landlords can’t pay their taxes and mortgages without income. It looks like the Feds don’t even consider landlords plight. They might see landlords as a weak victim that can’t fight back and will succumb to bankruptcy. You’re right to fight the end result with everything you’ve got. I haven’t seen any legislation posed yet to help landlords, so the intent seems obvious.
If you want to treat this like section 8 housing and have the government guarantee the lessee’s rent then ok. Otherwise, this is BS. You’re going to force a lot of landlords out of business, bankrupt them, and/or force them to needlessly sell their property. You know very well that the city and state will not forgo a sheriff sale. They want their money regardless of what economic situation this bill puts a landlord in.