Can You Evict During a Pandemic? - Episode 261

To prevent the spread of COVID, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ordered a prohibition against eviction if the tenant filed an affidavit with the Court and the landlord attesting to five criteria: Tenant used best efforts to obtain all available government assistance for rent or housing; Tenant earns no more than $99,000 in annual income for the Calendar Year 2020 - 2021 (or no more than $198,000 if filing a joint return), or was not required to report any income, or received a stimulus check under the CARES Act; Tenant is unable to pay full rent due to substantial loss of income, loss of hours, lay-off or extraordinary out of pocket medical expenses; Tenant is using best efforts to make timely payments that are as close to the full payment as the circumstances permit; If evicted, the tenant would likely become homeless, move into a homeless shelter, or need to move to a residence shared by other people who live in close quarters. The CDC is also clear in its order that they are not waiving the obligation of tenants to eventually pay the rent that is owed, and that the full past-due rent will be owed to the landlord when the moratorium ends. The declaration form is available here.  The CDC Order was set to expire on January 21, 2021, and was extended. As of this recording it is scheduled to expire March 31. There was a federal court judge in Texas who ruled the order was unconstitutional, but that court battle will likely continue far beyond any expiration of the CDC Order. In this week's episode, I unwrap the CDC's order and talk about ways landlords AND tenants can comply or avoid the order. We have handled a few evictions where the CDC Affidavit has been filed by a tenant (or recommended a tenant file the affidavit) and Courts will have a hearing to determine the order's applicability. What should you know about the CDC's Order?  That's the subject of today's episode! If you want me to speak to your group about the CDC Order, you can reach out to me at [email protected]. If you need to cut expenses or increase income to attempt to generate more money to comply with the order, order my free book "Become Debt Free in Less Than One Hour" at www.ShawnMYesner.com/BecomeDebtFree. Please also refer any attorneys or title companies you know to our sponsor, Sam Cohen at [email protected] or www.AttorneysFirst.com.