San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
If federal order expires, what will happen next for renters?
With the COVID stimulus bill suddenly in limbo after President Donald Trump said he wouldn't immediately sign off on it, a possible extension on a federal order meant to provide legal protection for tenants facing eviction in the middle of the pandemic still is set to expire Thursday.
The order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided a declaration form that, if signed, would keep protected tenants in their homes (tenants attest in the affidavit that they tried to pay rent, that they would be homeless if evicted and that they make less than $99,000).
A stimulus package passed by both chambers of Congress included an extension of the order until Jan. 31, aswell as rental assistance.
Without the president's signature, the potential extra two months of protection will evaporate, putting millions of tenants at risk of becoming homeless during a pandemic.
We asked housing experts how effective the order was, what will happen when it expires and what local, state and federal governments could do to help keep renters from being evicted and landlords from going bankrupt. Their answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Q: How effective was the CDC order?
Molly Wright (San Antonio advocate for the homeless who was formerly homeless herself): From what I amseeing firsthand, some Justice of the Peace courts are very helpful but others are creating some obstacles which prevent renters from defending themselves adequately, giving growth to our homeless society of people. Hopefully, the obstacles will be addressed. But I am not holding my breath on that.
Sofia Lopez (San Antoniobased senior research analyst, Action Center on Race and the Economy): Despite the CDC moratorium, evictions are happening now. There's a belief that everyone is safe because of the current moratorium, but that isn't the case. The CDC order only covers non-payment of rent, which means landlords can evict tenants on other grounds, and from what I hear, many tenants don't know that the current moratorium is in effect. Depending on which precinct you're in and which judge you have, you could be evicted unnecessarily, with lasting consequences that will make it harder to find a home in the future.
Dana Karni (Lone Star Legal Aid, Eviction Right to Counsel Project Manager): When the CDC order was initially implemented, it took weeks to become effective. In the first weeks of the CDC order's existence, we would see dockets with dozens of unrepresented tenants handed eviction judgments while the lone tenant with representation was spared judgment thanks to the CDC protections, undoubtedly because of the assistance of counsel. Ultimately, in our experience, tenants without attorneys were either unaware of the CDC protections whatsoever, or they had little clue howto benefit from them. It is only in the last weeks of the CDC's applicability that we have seen most courts urge defend ant tenants to review the CDC declaration and consider signing it, if it applies to their circumstances.
Zoe Middleton (Texas Housers, Southeast Texas Co-Director): The CDC order was a political Hail Mary and partially effective. It's still hard to tell howmany evictions it delayed. Coupled with local protections like a suspension of filings and a grace period ordinance, the CDC order could have kept more people in our region housed.
Diane Yentel (National Low Income Housing Coalition, President& CEO): The CDC moratorium has extended vital protections to millions of renters and enabled them to remain stably housed during the pandemic. However, because the order does not offer automatic coverage and because many renters — and particularly the lowest-income renters, whomay not have reliable internet access — are not aware of the moratorium's protections, the order has not been as effective as it could be. Landlords have no obligation to inform tenants of the moratorium, and many landlords have moved quickly to evict tenants before renters know their rights and how to be protected. The CDC issued on Oct. 9 guidance stating that landlords can file for an eviction and take all the steps necessary up to the physical removal of the renters, which has allowed landlords to file for eviction and harass tenants so that they leave earlier. This new guidance undermines the intent of the moratorium and makes it more difficult for themoratorium to be effective — it should be rescinded.
Q: What do you expect to see when it expires?
MW: What I have been seeing already even when the CDC order is in place — continued mass evictions, already reaching the 10,000 number in JP courts, by landlords of both private and corporate complexes.
I expect to see more homeless tent cities being erected, because I and other community members will be hosting more tent drives to donate to the homeless, both existing and new. I will see more people exchanging four walls for four wheels as people begin to realize they can afford storage facilities better than the market rate housing dwellings that are being and have been erected all over the city.
I will continue to see the constituents of San Antonio grow more and more uncomfortable seeing poverty before them under bridges and highways holding signs that read anything helps and resolving their discomfort by calling 911.
SL: Once the CDC order expires, we will see landlords file more evictions, and more tenants harassed out of their homes.
DK: We have been expecting the number of eviction filings to rise. In fact, in the weeks before the expiration of the CDC order, the first half of December has seen a significant increase in the number of tenants calling for advice and counsel at Lone Star Legal Aid's Eviction Right to Counsel Unit where the tenant received a notice to vacate and has not yet been sued.
ZM: We're tracking dockets for January and are already seeing a high number of daily cases. With insufficient rental assistance amounts being discussed in Washington it's unlikely that every renter's debt will be reduced or eliminated, which might force highly indebted landlords to evict.
DY: Tens of millions of low-income renters will be at risk of losing their home and, with it, their ability to keep themselves and their families safe and healthy. Allowing tens of millions of people to be evicted in the dead of winter in the middle of a resurgence of COVID-19 cases and deaths is unconscionable, and would have lasting harmful impacts to children, families, communities, and our country's ability to contain the virus.
Q: What steps should the state be taking right now?
MW: The state needs to cancel the rents and forgive mortgages for private landlords. The state needs to take control of the local housing–out–of–control-monopoly that is pushing San Antonio deeper and deeper into homelessness. We have an entire segment of society that nobody can see becausewe know how to hide ourselves and blend in well. We cannot live in today's housing because it is unaffordable and nobody is controlling the price gouging … even during the pandemic crisis, as (some landlords) attempt to collect COVID recovery fees.
SL: The state should step in to freeze evictions again as they did in the spring. Things are much worse now with respect to the virus and with respect to our economic situation. It's completely baffling that we had modest measures months ago, and absolutely nothing in place now besides a necessary but slow rental and mortgage assistance fund.
DK: Legal services in pilot counties made tremendous efforts to facilitate the roll-out of the Texas Eviction Diversion Program. The state-wide program was meant to launch in November, and has now been delayed to January 2021. (It is likely not going to roll out statewide before February.) The existing funding is insufficient to meet the demand.
ZM: The state should be reforming TDEM to make it easier and more appealing to participate. Currently, TDEM incentivizes landlords to file an eviction to access the program. That shouldn't be the case. The state could also suspend hearings again either through a SCOTX or gubernatorial order.
DY: In the absence of a federal moratorium, cities and states can still take action to prevent evictions. Early in the pandemic, many state and local governments issued their own eviction moratoriums, but most governors and mayors have allowed those protections to lapse. Governors and mayors should immediately issue their own eviction moratoriums to keep renters safely, stably housed.
Q: What should the federal government be doing?
SL: Comprehensive federal action that wipes away rents and mortgages would be best.
DK: The CDCOrder has proven to be most impactful in pausing evictions in Texas. A recent study from UCLA attributes 4,456 deaths in Texas to the lifting of the Texas Supreme Court eviction moratorium and C OVID -19. An extension of the CDC protections would go a long way towards preventing further evictions. The federal government's ability to provide additional financial assistance to unemployed and underemployed individuals impacted by the pandemic would also help tenants and landlords get rents paid to avoid eviction.
ZM: At least a national moratorium and between $75 to $100 billion in rent relief.
DY: The federal government must immediately extend, improve, and enforce the national moratorium on evictions. Congress must also pass another coronavirus relief bill with at least $100 billion for emergency rental assistance, $11.5 billion to help communities respond to the needs of people experiencing homelessness.