Evictions Moratorium Extended Until 2021

BY TRUMP ADMINISTRATION 

Washington / Efe

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The Trump administration announced a moratorium on evictions for tenants who meet certain conditions until the end of this year to prevent potential increase in homelessness that could worsen the COVID-19 crisis. The decision, announced by the White House and contained in a new rule from the government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), would impose criminal charges on homeowners who evict their tenants if they prove they cannot pay rent.

To qualify for the moratorium, tenants must prove that they have an income of less than $99,000 a year, exhausted their best efforts to pay the rent, sought out help from the government to finance it, and are likely to be homeless if evicted. The Treasury Department estimates that the measure will benefit some 40 million people who rent their homes. Evictions for other reasons besides not paying rent are permissible, however.

This new moratorium is essentially an extension to the one that Congress approved in March that lasted until the end of July. Only 18 states still maintain some protection against eviction due to the coronavirus crisis. Negotiations between the White House and Congress on a fiscal stimulus package in the face of the acute economic crisis caused by the pandemic stalled in the middle of last month, and lawmakers went on vacation without resolving the issue.

Critics of the Decision

 

The National Housing Coalition assures that the measure should have been accompanied by financial aid so that the tenants hardest hit by the economic crisis due to the pandemic could pay the months of rent they owe. A legislation should have helped the owners who may also have financial problems.

“This measure delays evictions but does not prevent them. They must pass a law with at least $100 billion in emergency rental assistance,” said Diane Yentel, president of the coalition.

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