State justices order ban on some evictions

LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Supreme Court ordered a ban Tuesday on evictions for nonpayment of rent at certain federally backed properties until July 25, in response to the covid-19 pandemic.

The order places an eviction moratorium on properties covered by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security — or CARES — Act, including federally subsidized housing, rural voucher-program housing and housing financed through federally backed mortgages.

The act is a sweeping piece of federal legislation passed in response to the new coronavirus.

The state high-court’s ruling covers filings under all three of Arkansas’ eviction statutes, and brings the state into compliance with the federal law, said Lynn Foster, a retired University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law professor who specializes in housing issues. Two of the state statutes are civil, one is criminal.

Although the federal law has been in effect since March 27, it was difficult to enforce because evictions were filed through court clerks who cannot practice law.

Now, with the state Supreme Court ruling, the person who files the eviction is responsible and could be subject to sanctions if the action isn’t in compliance with the act, Foster said.

“It says ‘Hey landlords, if your property has anything to do with federal funding, you should not be filing an eviction,’” she said.

The order requires anyone filing an eviction for nonpayment of rent to “affirmatively plead” the property isn’t covered by the CARES Act.

The CARES Act covers about 28% of renters nationally, according to the Congressional Research Service. About one-third of Arkansans are renters.

“This temporary pleading requirement merely reflects the Act’s moratorium prohibiting the lessor of a covered dwelling from filing a legal action to recover the possession of the property for nonpayment,” the court’s order reads.