What You Need To Know About The New Federal Moratorium On Evictions – When It Is Effective, To Whom It Applies, And The Process.

The CDC issued an Order dated September 1, 2020, putting in place a moratorium on residential evictions for failure to make rent or housing (mortgage) payments. Whether you are a landlord, tenant, or owner, here are a few parts of the Order to keep in mind:

-The Order becomes effective once published in the Federal Register. It has not been published as of today, but may be any day now.

-Once published, it is effective through and including December 31, 2020.

-People still may be evicted for reasons other than not paying rent or making a housing payment.

-To prevent eviction, the person must execute a Declaration and provide it to the landlord or lender (or other person trying to evict them). The Declaration, to be signed under penalty of perjury, includes that the person:

-has used best efforts to obtain all available government assistance for rent (in PA meaning they have applied for the state assistance that is available) or housing, AND

-(a) expects to earn no more than $99,000 in annual income for calendar year 2020 ($198,0000 if joint tax return), (b) was not required to report income to IRS in 2019, or (c) received a stimulus check, AND

-cannot pay the full rent/housing payment due to a substantial loss of household income, loss of compensable hours of work/wages, a layoff, or extraordinary (exceeding 7.5% of 2020 AGI) OOP medical expenses, AND

-is using best efforts to make timely partial payments as close to full payment as circumstances may permit, taking into account other nondiscretionary expenses (which presumably would not include Netflix, cigarettes, credit cards and anything else that is not food, medication, transportation or otherwise necessary); AND

-if evicted they would likely become homeless, need to move into a homeless shelter, or need to move into a new residence shared by others living in close quarters because there are no other available housing options, AND

-they understand they must still pay rent or housing payment and otherwise comply with the lease/similar and that fees/interest for failure to pay rent still apply.

For questions about this moratorium, or legal assistance related to an eviction, contact Austin Law Firm LLC at 717.846.2246 or www.austinlawllc.com