Following up on our previous reporting, the Biden administration announced that it would allow a nationwide ban on evictions to end Saturday, claiming its hands are tied after the Supreme Court indicated it would only be extended through the end of the month.
The White House said President Joe Biden would have liked to extend the federal eviction moratorium due to the spread of the highly contagious variable delta, the Associated Press reported. Instead, Biden called on “Congress to extend the moratorium on evictions to protect vulnerable renters and their families without delay.”
The moratorium was imposed last September by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Given the recent spread of the delta variant, including among those Americans who are likely to face evictions and lack vaccinations, President Biden would have strongly supported the CDC’s decision to extend this eviction moratorium to protect renters at this moment of heightened vulnerability. “Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has made it clear that this option is no longer available,” the White House said.
The court mustered a 5-4 majority last month, to allow the eviction ban to continue through the end of July. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, one of those in the majority, made it clear that he would block any additional extensions unless there was a “clear and specific mandate from Congress.”
By the end of March, 6.4 million American families were behind on their rent payments, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. As of July 5, nearly 3.6 million people in the United States said they would face eviction in the next two months, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey.
Dr. Rochelle Wallinsky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in June that this would be the last time the moratorium would be extended when she set the deadline for July 31. – 19 by people who were put down in the streets and shelters.
Housing advocates and some lawmakers have called for an extension of the moratorium due to the increase in coronavirus cases and the fact that little rental assistance has been distributed.
“The confluence of a growing delta variable with the 6.5 million families who are behind on rent and at risk of eviction when the deferral period ends requires immediate action,” said Diane Yentel, executive director of the National Coalition on Low-Income Housing.
“The public health imperative to provide extended protection to tenants is clear. If federal court cases make a broad extension impossible, the Biden administration should implement all possible alternatives, including a more limited ban on federally backed properties.
Some Democratic lawmakers have called on the administration to extend the moratorium.
This pandemic is no longer behind us, and our federal housing policies must reflect this stark reality. With the United States facing the most severe eviction crisis in its history, our local and state governments still need more time to distribute critical rent aid to help keep a roof over our voters’ heads,” Democratic Representatives Corey Bush of Missouri, Jimmy Gomez of California and Ayanna Pressley of California said. Massachusetts in a joint statement.
But the landlords, who opposed the stay and repeatedly challenged it in court, opposed any extension. They argued that the focus should be on accelerating the slow distribution of rental assistance.
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