Eviction Ban: Short-Term Band-Aid, Long-Term Disaster

Published: Sept. 16, 2020, 8:11 a.m.

A national eviction ban is now in place that protects tenants for the rest of the year without offering any help for landlords. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it as an emergency health measure to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. But it does little to solve the problem of unpaid rent for landlords, who have bills to pay, or tenants, who face a giant balloon payment when the moratorium expires.
 
The CDC order went into effect on September 4th and runs through December 31st. That gives tenants a four-month reprieve from their rent obligations, if they don’t have the means to pay. Local eviction bans that provide equal or greater protection for tenants take precedence, so properties already covered by a COVID-19 eviction ban, are likely exempt from the national ban.