(Aug. 6, 2021) Evictions of tenants in counties experiencing substantial and high levels of community transmission levels of the coronavirus are banned until Oct. 3 under an order issued this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In issuing the order, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said her agency had determined that evictions of tenants for failure to make rent or housing payments “could be detrimental to public health control measures to slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.” The order, expiring in early October, applies to experiencing substantial and high levels of community transmission levels of SARS-CoV-2.
According to news reports, about 80% of U.S. counties have reached the “substantial or high” disease transmission rates; those counties hold about 90% of the U.S. population, the reports stated.
The CDC said its eviction moratorium allows additional time for rent relief to reach renters and to further increase vaccination rates. “In the context of a pandemic, eviction moratoria—like quarantine, isolation, and social distancing—can be an effective public health measure utilized to prevent the spread of communicable disease,” the agency said. “Eviction moratoria facilitate self-isolation and self-quarantine by people who become ill or who are at risk of transmitting COVID-19 by keeping people out of congregate settings and in their own homes,” the agency added.
However, there remains the question of whether the latest eviction ban will pass judicial review (extension of a previous ban was blocked by the Supreme Court, which ruled that Congress must act).
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CDC Issues Eviction Order in Areas of Substantial and High Transmission
(July 9, 2021) Landlords, consumer reporting agencies (CRAs), and others are reminded of their obligations to accurately report rental and eviction information in a compliance bulletin published by CFPB this week, highlighting the agency’s continuing concerns of an expected surge in evictions in the coming months.
The bureau’s compliance bulletin 2021-03 (“Consumer Reporting of Rental Information”) was issued amid soon-expiring COVID-19 pandemic-related protections for renters. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had extended federal eviction protections implemented during the pandemic through July.
The CFPB states the bureau would be “paying particular attention” to CRAs’ and information furnishers’ compliance with accuracy and dispute obligations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Regulation V with respect to rental information.
“The Bureau will hold CRAs and furnishers accountable for failing to comply with the FCRA and Regulation V,” the CFPB wrote. “The economic recovery of renters and their ability to secure new rental housing should not be impeded by noncompliance with the law.”
The bulletin took effect upon its publication Wednesday in the Federal Register.
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(May 7, 2021) Apartment landlords were put on notice this week by the CFPB that federal protections are in place to keep tenants from being evicted, at least for the short term, due to the financial impact of the coronavirus crisis.
However, the ruling of a federal court later in the week has placed the future of those protections in doubt without congressional action.
Monday, the bureau announced it – in concert with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) — had sent letters to companies that the agencies said collectively own more than 2 million apartment units nationwide. “The letters remind these landlords of federal protections in place to keep tenants in their homes and stop the spread of COVID-19,” according to a release from CFPB. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has extended until June 30 a temporary moratorium on evictions for non-payment of rent, and the CFPB has issued an interim final rule, which takes effect today, establishing new notice requirements under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).”
According to the agencies, the letters ask landlords to examine their practices to ensure they comply with the CDC moratorium and the FTC Act and “remediate any harm to consumers stemming from any such law violations.” The letters also, they said, encourage landlords to notify FDCPA-covered debt collectors working on their behalf, which may include attorneys, of the CDC moratorium, applicable state or local moratoria, and those parties’ obligations under the FTC Act and FDCPA, including the CFPB’s interim final rule.
However, on Wednesday, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., said the CDC acted outside of its authority in extending the temporary eviction moratorium. Ruling in favor of a group of property managers and real estate trade associations, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich vacated the CDC order.
“It is the role of the political branches, and not the courts, to assess the merits of policy measures designed to combat the spread of disease, even during a global pandemic,” the order states. “The question for the Court is a narrow one: Does the Public Health Service Act grant the CDC the legal authority to impose a nationwide eviction moratorium? It does not.”
The status of CFPB’s new rule is now unclear. The Justice Department, however, has indicated it will appeal the judge’s ruling and may ask for a stay in the meantime.
(April 23, 2021) In a follow-up to its action last week essentially freezing foreclosures until year’s end, the CFPB this week issued an interim final rule stating that tenants can hold debt collectors (including lawyers) accountable for illegal evictions in the face of a moratorium on such actions outlined by federal health authorities.
Based on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the rule requires debt collectors to provide written notice to tenants of their rights under the eviction moratorium issued by the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The bureau said the rule also prohibits debt collectors from misrepresenting tenants’ eligibility for protection from eviction under the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) moratorium.
Under the rule, CFPB said debt collectors, including attorneys, seeking to evict tenants for non-payment of rent must provide tenants who may have rights under the CDC order with clear and conspicuous written notice of those rights. The notice must be provided on the same date as the eviction notice, or, if no eviction notice is required by law, on the date that the eviction action is filed, the bureau said.
Phone calls or electronic notices such as text messages or emails are not sufficient; the notice must be in writing. Sample language to satisfy the rule’s disclosure requirements is included in the rule, the CFPB said.
The bureau added that its rule does not preempt more protective state laws, which some states (and localities) have adopted to enforce their own eviction moratoria. Debt collectors may also be required to provide notice of these moratoria, the bureau noted.
The rule takes effect May 3 (which the bureau said “will give debt collectors time to come into full compliance.” Debt collectors may begin complying with the rule before the compliance date, the bureau added.
It’s a short comment period for the rule: it ends May 19.
LINK:
CFPB Rule Clarifies Tenants Can Hold Debt Collectors Accountable for Illegal Evictions
(April 2, 2021) Evictions by major multistate landlords, eviction management services and private equity firms, among others, will be targeted for investigation by the CFPB and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the agencies said in a joint release this week.
Acting Director Dave Uejio and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Acting Chairwoman Rebecca Slaughter in the release said the action was aimed at helping stop illegal evictions and protecting consumers facing economic hardship resulting from the coronavirus crisis.
“We will not tolerate illegal practices that displace families and expose them – and by extension all of us – to grave health risks,” the pair said. “Evicting tenants in violation of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), state, or local moratoria, or evicting or threatening to evict them without apprising them of their legal rights under such moratoria, may violate prohibitions against deceptive and unfair practices, including under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Federal Trade Commission Act.”
The two agency leaders cited a CFPB report released at the beginning of March which, they asserted, found that renters are particularly endangered, with more than 8.8 million tenants behind on rent. They said those tenants at risk of homelessness are disproportionately people of color, primarily Black and Hispanic families.
Federal, state, and local governments, they noted, have put in place protections against evictions to keep people in their homes and to stop the spread of COVID-19. “Research has shown that eviction moratoriums save lives,” they said. They added that the CDC extended the federal moratorium on evictions by three months.
“Unfortunately, there are reports that major multistate landlords are forcing people out of their homes despite the government prohibitions or before tenants are aware of their rights,” the agency leaders stated. “Depriving tenants of their rights is unacceptable. Many of the tenants at risk of eviction are older Americans and people of color, who already experience heightened risks from COVID-19.”