Renters facing hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are protected from eviction for an additional three months after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended its national eviction moratorium.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky issued an order Monday extending the moratorium until June 30.
The extension, which was expected, comes as metro Phoenix leads the nation for the most people fearing they will lose their home, according a U.S. Census poll.
Housing advocates had believed the moratorium, in place since Sept. 4, would be extended because more time was needed to get the latest stimulus-funded renter aid out to tenants and landlords.
Arizona received about a half-billion dollars for renter aid from the December stimulus and will be receiving more from Biden’s $1.9 trillion package signed into law earlier this month.
“We have more money to help struggling renters and just need the time to get it to them,” said Patricia Garcia Duarte, CEO of the housing nonprofit Trellis. “The latest round has stricter guidelines and required more time to get going.”
Renters must sign a declaration stating they had lost income during the pandemic and adhere to certain requirements, including applying for rental assistance, to qualify for the eviction moratorium.
Renters who already have filled out the CDC declaration don’t need to do it again for the extension, according to the Maricopa County Justice Courts.
The CDC order didn’t stop eviction filings in metro Phoenix. Landlords have filed for more than 20,000 evictions in Maricopa County alone since September. Some Phoenix area landlords appear to have filed initial paperwork to evict with plans to file the final order when the ban expires.
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Return to normalcy?
Last week, Gov. Doug Ducey announced that all Arizonans 16 and older can get a COVID-19 vaccine, instilling some hope that normalcy could be on the horizon.
More than 2 million people statewide had received at least one vaccine dose as of Sunday, with more than 1.2 million people fully vaccinated against COVID-19, state data show. Arizona has about 5.6 million adults age 18 and older.
However, public health experts warn that Arizona needs to reach a higher level of herd immunity before mitigation efforts like social distancing, avoiding large gatherings and wearing a face covering should be relaxed.
The CDC eviction moratorium initially was enacted with the goal of preventing people from losing their housing and having to stay in a homeless shelter or cramped living situation that would make it more likely that someone would contract COVID-19.
“Even as COVID-19 vaccines continue to be distributed, it remains critical to maintain COVID-19 precautions to avoid further rises in transmission and to guard against yet another increase in the rates of new infections,” Walensky said in her order.
Walensky said that although evictions fell significantly in 2020 because of federal and local eviction moratoriums, research shows there have been more than 100,000 filings for eviction across the country since the CDC moratorium took effect in September, “suggesting high demand and likelihood of mass eviction.”
How to qualify for moratorium
To qualify for the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eviction ban that started Sept. 4 and now goes to June 30, tenants must sign a declaration saying:
They lost income during the pandemic.
They can’t make full rent payments.
They will try to make partial rent payments.
They have applied for rental help.
An eviction would leave them homeless or in cramped, unsafe living conditions.
Under the CDC rules, renters can’t earn more than $99,000 a year to qualify. Couples, who file joint tax returns, can make twice that much and qualify.
How many Arizonans could face eviction?
At least 210,000 Arizona households are at risk of eviction, according to a report from the University of Arizona Innovation for Justice program and the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
About 55% of metro Phoenix renters and homeowners thought they would be evicted or foreclosed on during the first half of March, according to the latest Census Household Pulse Survey.
An eviction notice hangs on the front door of a Phoenix apartment.
That’s a higher rate of people afraid of losing their homes than in any other U.S. metro now. And the concerning rate is up almost 19% since February.
In Maricopa County, landlords filed for 19,591 evictions between Sept. 4 and Feb. 28. About 13,000 of those were filed from early September through the end of 2020. The remaining filings were made in the first two months of 2021.
“We do have a large number of eviction judgments signed, but the writs were stayed or delayed, and possibly some writs that were dated after March 31,” said Scott Davis, Maricopa County Justice Courts spokesperson. “In these cases, landlords will need to wait at least another 90 days before applying for those writs.”
A writ allows a landlord to legally lock a tenant out.
“Today’s extension of the eviction moratorium puts further pressure on property owners, many of whom already are on the brink of foreclosure or bankruptcy,” said Courtney Gilstrap LeVinus, CEO of the Arizona Multifamily Association. “Here in Arizona, the state, counties, cities and towns have received more than $1 billion in federal aid targeted at eviction and foreclosure relief.
“Little more than $100 million of these resources have actually made it to the residents and property owners who need it,” she said. “Meanwhile, industry estimates put the unpaid rent statewide at more than $368 million.”
How to apply for rental aid
Aside from the health concerns, the extension essentially allows tenants additional time for applying for and receiving aid through the rental assistance program that was part of the stimulus bill passed by the federal government.
Had it not been extended, Maricopa County officials would have enacted contingency measures for a potential increase in the number of eviction cases that justices of the peace would have needed to hear, as landlords decided to move forward with eviction proceedings.
Arizona received $492 million in renter aid from the late December $900 billion stimulus.
Most of the money — about $290 million — will be administered for rent and utility payments in the state’s rural counties through the Arizona Department of Economic Security.
The state is taking applications for renters and landlords in rural Arizona at https://des.az.gov/ERAP.
In the Valley, Maricopa County, Phoenix, Mesa, Glendale, Chandler and Gilbert will have their own rental-aid programs with a total of more than $135 million in stimulus funds.
People can apply to the program using the Maricopa County portal. Additional information about the program is available by visiting maricopa.gov/renthelp.
Phoenix is taking applications for its $51.1 million renter aid program on March 8. Wildfire, which worked with Phoenix on its 2020 funding to help tenants and landlords, will administer about half of the funds.
Phoenix residents can apply at https://www.phoenix.gov/humanservices/programs/emergency.
Mesa is taking applications for its $15.76 million renter program at mesaaz.gov/mesacares.
Chandler and Gilbert residents can apply at azcend.org/community-action-program/. Chandler has $7.9 million in federal funds for renters and Gilbert $7.7 million.
To be eligible for the aid, applicants must meet not only the geographic requirements but have a household income that is at or below 80% of Maricopa County’s median income, $56,050 for a family of three.
Households must also qualify for unemployment benefits or have been affected in some manner because of the COVID-19 pandemic, either through reduced income or increased expenses. They must also demonstrate they are at risk of homelessness or housing instability by providing past due notices.
Coverage of housing insecurity on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Arizona Community Foundation.
Reach the reporter at jessica.boehm@gannett.com or 480-694-1823. Follow her on Twitter @jboehm_NEWS.
Reach the reporter at catherine.reagor@arizonarepublic.com or follow her on Twitter @catherinereagor.
Reach the reporter at ralph.chapoco@arizonarepublic.com or follow him on Twitter @rchapoco.
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AUTHOR: Jessica Boehm, Catherine Reagor, and Ralph Chapoco
