New Year – New Eviction Moratorium Extensions

As we previously informed you, on Friday, September 4, the CDC published an order to the Federal Register limiting residential evictions nationwide through December 31, 2020. On December 27, 2020, The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “Act”) went into effect and extended the residential eviction ban put in place under the CDC’s Order through January 31, 2021.

As a reminder, the CDC’s order includes five criteria to qualify as a “covered individual” and requires a renter to take affirmative steps to show they qualify as a covered individual, including that individuals must make under $99,000 a year, couples must make under $198,000 a year or must have received stimulus payments under the Cares Act. Renters must swear under criminal penalty they have done everything in their power to pay rent and obtain other assistance before taking advantage of the new eviction protections. Renters are not released from rent payment obligations pursuant to their leases. Renters must also follow all the other terms of their leases and may still be evicted for reasons other than not paying rent.

State and local laws may supersede the CDC’s order, so long as such laws provide “the same or greater level of public-health protection” as the CDC’s order. For example, last week New York passed a law halting residential evictions until at least May 1, 2021 for tenants who show documentation of a “COVID-related hardship.” The New York law also halts residential foreclosures through May 1, 2021.

Currently, Illinois has an eviction moratorium in place through January 9, 2021, which has similar qualifications to the CDC’s moratorium. Those qualifications as well as requirements for Landlords wanting to proceed with an eviction are listed in detail here: Illinois Eviction Moratorium Extended Again – With Revisions. Of course, Governor Pritzker may once again extend the moratorium as he has done every month since the start of the pandemic.

We will continue to monitor the situation and update you with any developments.