WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) has publicly shown support of the Supreme Court’s decision to end the nationwide eviction moratorium. In a statement released this morning, NMHC detailed its support of a short-term ban to evictions during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it does not believe a long-term ban on evictions is going to help sustain the economy.
At the beginning of August, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had extended the eviction ban once again to end on Oct 3. On Thursday, Aug. 26, The Supreme Court voted 6-3 to end the pandemic-related federal eviction ban. The Supreme Court ruled that the CDC had overstepped its authority, and Congress must be the one to implement any future eviction ban.
During the onset of the pandemic, NMHC convinced Congress to create a federal rental assistance program to prevent a housing crisis, and so Congress created the Emergency Rental Assistance Program. The program, plus the rest of the $4 trillion of economic relief provided by the government, helped residents to pay their rent. About 80.2 percent of apartment renters made a full or partial rent payment by Aug. 6, according to NMHC’s latest Rent Payment Tracker, which surveyed 11.7 million units of professional managed apartments nationwide. The weekly total exceeded NMHC’s tracker for the same period a year ago by 90 basis points.
At the end of July, NMHC released the survey results of 74 multifamily owners and managers that found 100 percent of multifamily owners assisted renters in need throughout the pandemic. The survey found landlords helped their residents via payment plans, deferred payments and waiving late fees, as well as modifying lease agreements.
NMHC believes that housing providers have given many sacrifices to help those residents in need, but that the eviction ban cannot go on indefinitely.
On the other side of the argument, some fear that evictions could lead to many people becoming homeless, which could further contribute to the spread of COVID-19. The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, a non-profit organization that works to preserve and improve public and affordable housing, released a statement this morning disagreeing with the Supreme Court’s decision.
“The Supreme Court’s decision last night to invalidate the federal eviction moratorium threatens the lives of million of families, many of whom are people of color, with the tragic consequences of eviction and homelessness just as colder months approach and the delta variant rages out of control,” says Sunia Zaterman, the CLPHA’s executive director.