Article courtesy of National Association of Realtors
 
The U.S. Supreme Court ended the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC's) eviction moratorium Thursday night, giving much-needed relief to America's small housing providers facing financial hardship for more than a year. 
 
In a 6-3 ruling, a majority of justices agreed that the stay on the lower court's order finding the CDC's eviction moratorium to be unlawful was no longer justified.
 
In their order, the justices wrote, "The moratorium has put the applicants, along with millions of landlords across the country, at risk of irreparable harm by depriving them of rent payments with no guarantee of eventual recovery. Despite the CDC's determination that landlords should bear a significant financial cost of the pandemic, many landlords have modest means."
 
The case was brought by the Georgia and Alabama Associations of REALTORS® and other property providers, with NAR's help.
 
In May of this year, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich for the District of Columbia had struck down the ban as unlawful, but she stayed her ruling pending appeal. The case wound up twice before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and Supreme Court.
 
In a statement, NAR said of the ruling:

"This decision is the correct one, from both a legal standpoint and a matter of fairness.  It brings to an end an unlawful policy that places financial hardship solely on the shoulders of mom-and-pop housing providers, who provide nearly half of all rental housing in America, and it restores property rights in America.
 
"No housing provider wants to evict a tenant-it is always a last resort and reserved for the rarest cases. The best solution for all parties is rental assistance, and all energy should go toward its swift distribution.  Nearly $50 billion of aid is now available to cover up to a year-and-a-half of combined back and future rent and utilities for struggling tenants-and every state has started a program to distribute the funds.
 
"With this rental assistance, now is the time to return the housing sector to its former, healthy function.  NAR is thankful for the Biden administration's new guidance to speed up rental assistance distribution, which includes many NAR recommendations. We will continue to work with all parties to make that assistance readily accessible to tenants and housing providers." 

NAR cautions housing providers that some state and local governments may still have their own eviction moratoria in place. (See more here.)

Stayed tuned to NAR for the latest analysis on this finding. 

Access NAR's rental assistance resources.

Excerpt from the JD Journal... 

​On Friday, the federal appeals court rejected a petition by landlord groups demanding that the latest moratorium on residential evictions imposed by President Joe Biden's administration be temporarily halted, setting up a Supreme Court showdown. Two chapters of the National Association of Realtors sought to stop the COVID-19 pandemic-related eviction ban set by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by filing a written request to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. A moratorium, implemented after a previous one expired at the end of July, will be in effect through Oct. 3. The moratorium was challenged by real estate groups in Alabama and Georgia. 
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Read the full article here www.jdjournal.com/2021/08/25/u-s-eviction-moratorium-rejected-by-the-appeals-court/

​If you have questions regarding an eviction, please contact Marshall Law.  Marshall and his staff have helped thousands of clients avoid eviction.  205-752-1202.  The call is easy and the consultation is always free.

​Two new rules by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau affect how creditors can collect debts under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and are expected to take effect November of 2021 or early in 2022.

The first debt collection rule focuses on the use of communications related to debt collection, and clarifies prohibitions on harassment and abuse, false or misleading representations, and unfair practices by debt collectors when collecting consumer debt.

The second debt collection rule clarifies disclosures debt collectors must provide to consumers at the beginning of collection communications. The rule also prohibits debt collectors from making threats to sue, or from suing, consumers on time-barred debt. The rule requires debt collectors to take specific steps to disclose the existence of a debt to consumers before reporting information about the debt to a consumer reporting agency.
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If you are receiving collection calls, texts, emails, or correspondence, contact Marshall Entelisano Law to discuss your options.

Congress chose not to extend the eviction moratorium, which expired July 31, 2021. According to a study by the Aspen Institute and the COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project, an estimated 15 million people in 6.5 million U.S. households are currently behind on rental payments. 

While there is federal money available to help those who suffered an economic impact due to COVID after January of 2020 and who are 150% below the poverty line, much of it has yet to be distributed.

The U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) publishes the poverty guidelines:

2021 POVERTY GUIDELINES FOR THE 48 CONTIGUOUS STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Visit https://eraalabama.com (Emergency Rental Assistance Alabama) to see if you qualify for rental assistance.  If you have received an eviction notice from your landlord and are now able to resume your rent payments and have a term left in your lease, contact Marshall Entelisano Law now to discuss your options.  205-752-1202.