The Alabama Association of REALTORS® and Georgia Association of REALTORS® filed a federal lawsuit seeking to have the court overturn the nationwide eviction ban issued in September by the Trump administration.
The associations allege that the moratorium, which was issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and bans evictions through December 31 for renters making up to $99,000 per year, is unconstitutional. NAR’s Legal Action Committee approved $100,000 to support this lawsuit.
The complaint reads, in part:
“The CDC’s goal of easing the economic impact of COVID-19 is laudable. But in attempting to do so without statutory authorization or following the rulemaking process required by the Administrative Procedure Act, the CDC has unilaterally shifted billions of dollars in economic burdens from one group of Americans, renters, to another, landlords. In many cases, these landlords, including plaintiffs here, are small business owners who have themselves suffered economic losses as a result of the pandemic. The Eviction Moratorium will cause landlords across the country to lose $55-76 billion in unpaid rent—and billions more if the Eviction Moratorium is extended into 2021.”
Let’s reword that last part as if someone “pro moratorium”, and against the lawsuit were writing this.
This E̶v̶i̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶M̶o̶r̶a̶t̶o̶r̶i̶u̶m̶ Lawsuit will cause l̶a̶n̶d̶l̶o̶r̶d̶s̶ families across the country to lose $̶5̶5̶-̶7̶6̶ ̶b̶i̶l̶l̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶u̶n̶p̶a̶i̶d̶ ̶r̶e̶n̶t̶—̶ their homes and become homeless if the Eviction Moratorium is stopped and isn’t extended into 2021.”
I FULLY SUPPORT AL, GA and NAR on this. The audacity of any entity of the federal government to unfairly and hugely burden a class of citizen for the benefit of another class WITHOUT ACCOMPANYING FEDERAL FUNDING is just insane. How can this happen in America?
It’s about time we, as Realtors, step up & speak out against this terrible illegal policy. There should never be a legal moratorium on evictions. Property owners have a right to the use & income of their property, and without the leverage of eviction we cannot be assured of payment of rent. The idea that a tenant who has missed several months of rent will suddenly be able to pay that on some magical date is crazy. Unlike a debt where payments can be extended, rent never ends. No justification should be required, but I risked financial loss to purchase… Read more »
🤦♀️💔
As a residential property manager of several hundred homes, the majority of which are owned by individual investors who have mortgages on their properties, the eviction moratorium puts an undo financial burden on them which in turn can often lead to default. Most individual owners of single family homes do not have 6 + months of rental reserve to cover their mortgages. Nobody prepares for this kind of eviction moratorium. To me this is a two sided coin but the government is only showing one side. The flip side of the coin would be to also put a maritime on… Read more »
How’s about Texas ?
I support this suit 100%. If the government wants to keep people in there homes they might subsidize the rent so Landlords can make their mortgage payment. I am not endorsing that plan but it is certainly better than the one on the table. I see renters taking advantage of it by not paying rent and over spending elsewhere. $99,000 a year goes a long way in Texas.
While I appreciate the lawsuit, the moratorium ends in just twenty-one days. It appears that they’re just asking the court to declare the moratorium unconstitutional and in violation of the administrative procedures act (which requires proposed rules be posted for public comment). I’d say, so what? It’s a pretty expensive way tackle an issue that ends before the lawsuit is even in court but I may have missed something. The prayer, which is the relief the parties are seek, asks for the following: – A declaration, order, and judgment holding unlawful, enjoining, and setting aside the CDC’s Eviction Moratorium; –… Read more »
The CDC has no standing to stop evictions. Just ignore their unconstitutional edict.