04/09/2020
The recently passed federal CARES Act includes a 120-day moratorium on evictions and late fees for “covered properties.” Beginning on March 27 (the effective date of the legislation) property owners and managers of covered properties are prohibited from providing eviction notices or initiating eviction actions against residents for nonpayment of rent and may not charge fees or penalties related to that nonpayment of rent.
“Covered properties” are those with a “federally backed mortgage loan,” such as those that are insured, guaranteed, supplemented, protected, or assisted in any way by HUD, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Fannie Mae, or Freddie Mac. Also included in this requirement are those properties covered by the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, which would include most affordable housing. The scope of properties subject to the national eviction moratorium is substantial.
Under the Act, notices to vacate are prohibited from being issued until after the expiration of the moratorium and residents may not be required to vacate within 30 days of the notice to vacate, which effectively extends the eviction moratorium to 150 days. This moratorium does not apply just to those affected by the COVID-19 crisis but to all residents at a “covered property.”
The CARES Act moratorium is in addition to Governor Walz’s Executive Order halting evictions. The federal moratorium supersedes state or local eviction bans that are less stringent or shorter in duration, but the federal eviction moratorium does not prevent the enforcement of more restrictive state or local moratoria. For example, the Minnesota eviction moratorium suspends evictions not only for nonpayment cases but also for breaches of lease.
Rent is still due. Residents still owe rent under both the federal law and the Governor's executive order.
