The mess that is the jumble of eviction moratoriums for non-payment of rent just became slightly less tangled Wednesday May 5, 2021. US District Judge Dabney Friedrich vacated the Center for Disease Control’s moratorium on evictions for non-payment of rent stating that the CDC does not have the authority to put restrictions on property owners and landlords. The court’s decision increases the risk to tenants behind in their rent and is a boon to property owners and landlords seeking to sue for unlawful detainer (eviction) in California.
Up to now, the CDC’s moratorium was one of the layers of protections for tenants intermingled with congressional action, presidential executive orders, California governor’s executive orders, county wide orders, and even some city orders. These moratoriums have not often had the same dates or levels of protections leading some offices, ours included, to refuse to get involved while the mess continues. With the CDC’s authority removed nationally by Judge Friedrich’s orders, the jumble is one thread less.
The (current as of today) moratoriums at the California state level continue until June 30, 2021 by order of the governor, and LA County similarly has aligned their own moratorium to the same date. Orange county has city wide moratoriums in several cities, but they expire on May 31 for the most part. The Biden administration vowed to appeal Judge Friedrich’s orders, and whether the CDC’s moratorium will stay in place during the appeal is yet to be determined.
Renter’s assistance programs can often be found at the California and even the city/county levels, but they require cooperation between the renter and the landlord. While we have received calls about landlords agreeing to take part with renters refusing, we have yet to hear of renters wanting to take part and landlords refusing. This in light of the fact that landlords are the ones who will have to agree to take reduced reimbursement in lieu of holding the renters responsible.
This is a developing issue and for more information, you should research the weekly and daily changes that seem to affect this problem. You should also talk to an attorney willing to take these issues on to get updates as things go along (we’re staying out of it for now).