The CDC issued a Federal Eviction Moratorium Order effective September 4, 2020 on residential evictions for nonpayment of rent for "covered persons" from the effective date September 4 through January 31, 2021. Please click here to read the CDC Federal Eviction Moratorium Order.
The order states that a "covered person" may not be evicted from a residential property based on nonpayment of rent or other amounts due under a lease agreement. A tenant must provide to the landlord, owner, or other person who has a right to have them evicted, a sworn Declaration that the tenant meets certain qualifications. Each tenant on the lease must provide one, or they could be evicted. Please click here for Declaration.
The Declaration must be sworn under penalty of perjury and certify the qualifications of the tenant to be covered by the moratorium. Those qualifications include:
- The individual has used best efforts to obtain all available government assistance for rent or housing;
- The individual either expects to earn no more than $99,000 in annual income for calendar year 2020 (or no more than $198,000 if filing a joint tax return), was not required to report any income in 2019 to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, or received an Economic Impact (stimulus check) pursuant to Section 2201 of the CARES Act;
- the individual is unable to pay the full rent or make a full housing payment due to substantial loss of household income, loss of compensable hours of work or wages, a lay-off, or extraordinary out-of-pocket medical expenses;
- The individual is using best efforts to make timely partial payments that are as close to the full payment as the individual's circumstances may permit, taking into account other nondiscretionary expenses; and
- Eviction would likely render the individual homeless-or force the individual to move into and live in close quarters in a new congregate or shared living setting-because the individual has no other available housing options.
This order also does not apply to any evictions other than those for nonpayment of rent or other amounts due under the lease, such as late fees or utility payments. If a Declaration is provided to the landlord that the tenant meets the above qualifications but the landlord files an eviction for a reason other than nonpayment, the landlord would not be able to recover rent in that eviction suit through the expiration of the CDC Eviction Moratorium.
If a tenant appears at any point of the eviction process, including after a judgment and before execution of a writ of possession, and informs the court that they have provided a Declaration to the landlord, the court should immediately halt proceedings and determine whether or not a Declaration has been provided to the landlord. If a landlord has received a Declaration, the court should take it as valid unless the landlord disputes its validity, in which case the court can take evidence on the tenant's qualifications. If a valid Declaration has been provided, the court should abate the case until the moratorium expires.
Landlord Procedure
A landlord must file a sworn affidavit with their petition stating if a Declaration was or was not provided.
- If petition states a Declaration was not provided and tenant does not appear at trial, the court should proceed with the case normally.
- If petition states a Declaration was not provided and tenant does appear at trial and makes a Declaration, all proceedings shall halt until the moratorium expires.
- If petition states a Declaration was provided prior to filing, the court should immediately halt all proceedings until the moratorium expires.
Justice of the Peace Court 6
