Trump uses CDC to temporarily halt residential evictions

US President Donald Trump invoked a rarely used authority of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to halt residential evictions through the end of the year as part of the ongoing effort to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

"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 CDC said in a statement.

"Housing stability helps protect public health because homelessness increases the likelihood of individuals moving into congregate settings, such as homeless shelters, which then puts individuals at higher risk to COVID-19."

The order doesn't provide financial relief for renters or landlords and doesn't relieve tenants from the obligation to pay rent in full in the future. Landlords aren't prohibited from charging interest or applying fees and penalties to unpaid rent.

The CDC ordered a halt to residential evictions of tenants unable to pay full rent due to income loss and who expect to earn a maximum of $99,000 in 2020 or no more than $198,000 if filing a joint income tax return.

In addition, participants in the program must state they can't pay rent because of coronavirus-related hardships, are likely to become homeless if evicted and show that they sought government assistance to pay their rent.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Trump said, "I want to make it unmistakably clear that I'm protecting people from evictions."

Diane Yentel, CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition in Washington, called the action an "essential step" but a "half measure". "This action delays but does not prevent evictions," she said in a statement.

"Congress and the White House must get back to work on negotiations to enact a COVID-19 relief bill with at least $100 billion in emergency rental assistance," Yentel said. "Together with a national eviction moratorium, this assistance would keep renters stably housed and small landlords able to pay their bills and maintain their properties during the pandemic."

Doug Bibby, president of the National Multifamily Housing Council in Washington, said the trade organization was "disappointed" by Trump's action and warned that it "will ultimately harm the very people it aims to help" by reducing the supply of affordable rental units.

"Not only does an eviction moratorium not address renters' real financial needs, a protracted eviction moratorium does nothing to address the financial pressures and obligations of rental property owners," he said in a statement.

"Without mortgage forbearance protections and protections from other property-level financial obligations such as property taxes, insurance payments, and utility service, the stability of the entire rental housing sector is thrown into question."

Researchers at Princeton University's Eviction Lab said there are an average of 3.6 million evictions annually.

Typically, eviction judgment amounts are for failure to pay one or two months' rent totaling less than $600, the researchers concluded.

Harvard researchers found that much new construction in the rental market is concentrated at the high end. That boosts the return on investment but limits the supply of low-cost apartments.

Between March and July, the US unemployment rate fluctuated between 11.1 percent and 14.4 percent compared with 3.5 percent before the government-ordered economic shutdown to curb spread of the coronavirus. The economic slowdown put additional pressure on the jobless to pay their rent.

The CDC's action stems from an executive order that Trump issued in August instructing federal health officials to review measures to temporarily halt evictions.

The CDC's order is based on Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act that authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Surgeon General "to make and enforce such regulations as in his judgment are necessary to prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases from foreign countries into the States or possessions, or from one State or possession into any other State or possession".