CDC Eviction Moratorium Applies to HUD Programs, But Faces Legal Challenge

HUD’s Offices of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) and Multifamily Housing Programs (Multifamily) recently sent out information to participants informing them of the moratorium on evictions for nonpayment of rent ordered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). PIH states that the CDC eviction moratorium for nonpayment of rent applies to the Public Housing, Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), and the Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation (Mod Rehab) programs.

HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing is encouraging owners to inform residents of the eviction protections under the CDC order and the required declaration form. HUD notes that owners of HUD-assisted and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured properties who are notifying residents that their tenancy will be terminated for nonpayment of rent or fees while this order remains in force should inform residents of the protections available to them under this order and should document such notifications in the tenant file. A resident cannot be required to complete the declaration form but will not have the CDC eviction protection without it.

In response to the CDC order, a Virginia landlord filed a legal challenge on Sept. 8 and requested a temporary restraining order against the CDC recent order setting a nationwide moratorium on evictions through the end of 2020. Despite the landlord’s residence in Virginia, the case was filed in a federal court in Georgia, the state where the Centers for Disease Control is headquartered. The landlord’s case was taken on by the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), a Washington-based organized whose mission is to “defend constitutional freedoms—primarily against the Administrative State,” according to its website.

For answers to frequently asked questions about the eviction moratorium, see “CDC, HHS Temporarily Halt Residential Evictions Nationwide,” available to subscribers here.