Tag: eviction

Less Than 17 Percent of Rental Aid Distributed by August, Treasury Says

Virginia Star Staff
A living room in an apartment space with a blue couch and TV

State and local officials disbursed less than 17% of the funds allocated for pandemic rent assistance by the end of August, the Treasury Department announced Friday.

Officials have disbursed $7.7 billion of the $46.5 billion in funds allocated to the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program meant to aid those at risk of eviction, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

The program was created eight months ago and has struggled to distribute its funds to tenants. A number of state officials have said the delays can be attributed to a lack of preparedness to facilitate the distribution of such large sums of money.

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Report: 1.9 Million Households Owe $15 Billion in Back Rent as Eviction Moratorium Expires

The Center Square
Aerial view of a suburb

Up to 1.95 million households across America will owe a collective $15 billion in back rent when the eviction moratorium expires Saturday, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia estimates.

That number will reach 2 million by December, according to the report released Friday. In Pennsylvania, about 60,000 renter households will owe $412 million come August. 

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made one final 30-day extension of the Emergency Rental Assistance Program through July 31. President Joe Biden’s administration said its “hands are tied” by the courts on the matter and any further relief must come from Congress itself. 

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Judge Determines That CDC Does Not Have the Authority to Uphold Federal Eviction Moratorium

Virginia Star Staff

A federal judge in Washington D.C. ruled on Wednesday that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) does not legally have the authority to uphold a federal freeze on evictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to ABC News.

The ruling was made by Judge Dabney Friedrich of the D.C. Circuit Court, who subsequently ordered that the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) vacate the policy. The eviction moratorium, which had been in place since it was first implemented last year under the Trump Administration, was meant to assist those who have been unable to pay rent due to the shutdown of small businesses, forbidding landlords from evicting such tenants until said tenants can return to work and start paying their rent again.

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Landlords Struggle Under Extended CDC Eviction Ban, Class-Action Lawsuit Argues

The Center Square
John Vecchione

Landlords are struggling after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) extended a national ban on certain evictions apparently to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The CDC extended the moratorium, first enacted in Sept. 2020, through June 30.

The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group, filed a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa on behalf of Asa Mossman of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and other housing providers. 

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Gov. Northam Requests Ban on Evictions in Virginia, but Economic Impact Draws Concern

Admin

Gov. Ralph Northam is asking the Virginia Supreme Court to extend a ban on evictions until Sept. 7 amid thousands of pending cases, but some critics worry about the economic impact.

The ban was first implemented earlier this year to prevent Virginians from losing their homes because of the economic hardships caused by the shutdown over COVID-19. With hardships continuing statewide and the governor pulling back on the reopening of Hampton Roads, he has requested an extension.

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