Ban on foreclosures, evictions extended

Governor’s moratorium now ends June 2

Renters expecting to be evicted on May 17 can relax — at least for another two weeks.

At a news conference on Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said he is extending a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures that he signed in an executive order on April 2. The extension ends on June 2, DeSantis said.

That order prevents landlords from filing eviction proceedings against tenants unable to pay their rent because of the coronavirus emergency. It also prevents lenders from filing to foreclose on homes.

Tenants who haven’t been able to make their payments but also have not received promised benefits from Florida’s overwhelmed unemployment system feared their landlords would file notices of eviction as soon as the moratorium was lifted on May 17.

Sen. Gary Farmer, DFort Lauderdale, was among residents who urged DeSantis to extend the moratorium. After the governor’s announcement on Thursday, Farmer tweeted his thanks and urged him to “please consider paying ALL unemployment claims,” adding, “System is irreparably broken for now and Floridians need immediate help.”

Farmer also posted that several clerks of court are still accepting foreclosure

and eviction filings and issuing summonses in apparent violation of DeSantis’ executive order.

He retweeted a photo uploaded by Rep. Michael Grieco of a residential eviction summons stamped by Miami-Dade County Dep. Clerk of Court Vivia Gray on May 13. “Imagine you get a knock on your door & it’s a process server with a courtissued eviction summons and 5-day notice,” Greico tweeted. “Pretty sure this isn’t what @GovRonDeSantis wanted when he imposed an eviction moratorium!”

Through Wednesday, 1.9 million unemployed workers have applied for benefits and just 711,896 have received payments, according to the state Department of Economic Opportunity.

Recognizing that many states have failed to get unemployment benefits to their workers, the National Multifamily Housing Council, a trade group representing owners of large and midsize apartment complexes, has called on the federal government to provide $100 billion in rental assistance to tenants and landlords. The proposal is included in a massive new $3 trillion relief package proposed by the Democratic-led U.S. House.

Francesca Radabaugh, executive director of the Delray Beach-based South East Florida Apartment Association, which represents local landlords, called for rent payment assistance from local, state or federal governments. “Eviction restrictions, while well intended, do not address the root cause of the problem — an individual’s inability to pay rent,” she said in an email.

Victoria Alliji, a Lantana tenant who wrote DeSantis last week asking him to extend the moratorium, on Thursday said that she’s “ecstatic” about the extension but have would preferred it had been for longer than two weeks. That way, she said, tenants returning to work as Broward and Palm Beach counties start to reopen next week would have more time to make money and catch up.

“I think it should have been a month, but I’ll take it,” she said.

Alliji, 25, was laid off from jobs as a bartender and personal trainer when the quarantine began. Her two roommates were also laid off, and the trio owes more than $3,000 for April and May rent. All three have applied for unemployment assistance but none have received anything yet, Alliji said. The three were convinced their property manager planned to begin eviction proceedings as soon as possible on May 17.

Instead of fighting an eviction, Alliji is hoping to find out that she’ll be returning to work if her restaurant employer’s dinein business picks up and DeSantis allows gyms to reopen in Palm Beach County.