Federal judge overturns CDC’s national eviction ban

More than $45 billion was allocated by Congress for rental assistance in the latest coronavirus relief package

May 6, 2021

A federal judge has struck down the national moratorium on evictions implemented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the coronavirus pandemic. The ruling will put millions of Americans at risk of losing their homes months ahead of the projected moratorium end date in September.

Exterior of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) headquarters is seen on October 13, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia. Frieden urged hospitals to watch for patients with Ebola symptoms who have traveled from the tree Ebola stricken African countries. (Photo by Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)

The ruling is being called a victory for property owners.

The U.S. Department of Justice plans to appeal the ruling of Judge Dabney Fredrich who was appointed to the court in 2017 by former President Donald Trump.

“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,” Friedrich wrote in the decision. “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.”

A federal judge in DC has vacated the CDC's nationwide eviction moratorium (currently set to expire June 30), finding the Public Health Service Act didn't give the agency the power to do something like this on its own https://t.co/6gOvPqtpQm pic.twitter.com/h3kDlQJyl2
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) May 5, 2021

“Confirming: The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a notice of appeal to the DC Circuit of this morning’s ruling vacating the CDC’s eviction moratorium. Also, we seek a stay of the decision, pending appeal,” DOJ Public Affairs spokesperson, Anthony Coley tweeted.

The CDC has banned most evictions across the country since last year. Their ruling was later extended by President Joe Biden through April and then June.

More than $45 billion was allocated by Congress for rental assistance in the latest coronavirus relief package. States are scrambling to disburse the funds. The White House notes that the moratorium provided necessary relief for renters saying that “there were 1.55 million fewer evictions filed during 2020 than would be expected due to the eviction moratorium, so it clearly has had a huge benefit,” according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

According to research, if the moratorium had not existed during the height of the pandemic, 10,000 more people would have likely died between last March and September.

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