WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) has publicly stated that there should no longer be a nationwide eviction moratorium, a position the Washington, D.C.-based organization has held for the better part of a year. The statement is in response to a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich on Wednesday, May 5, to vacate the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) eviction ban that began last year and was extended through June 2021.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people lost their jobs and could not pay their rent, according to the NMHC. In April 2020, there was a spike in unemployment claims with 14.8 percent of Americans unemployed. The CDC implemented a nationwide eviction moratorium, which would ensure that Americans who had lost their jobs or were struggling financially were not going to become homeless due to the pandemic.
The NMHC stated that it believes the eviction moratorium is no longer a necessary solution with unemployment numbers decreasing and more and more people getting one of the three available COVID-19 vaccines.
The association added that the best solution to help people afford their living situations is to provide Americans with the resources needed to be able to pay their rent, which the federal government already did with the stimulus checks and unemployment benefits, and through congressional approval of an approximately $50 billion rental assistance program.
With the economy improving, housing owners are now the vulnerable parties due to many people not paying their rents and landlords not having due recourse, according to the NMHC.
According to CNBC, a spokesman for the Department of Justice said it planned to appeal the ruling. Furthermore, it seeks a stay of the decision, which means that the ban would remain in effect throughout the court battle.