By Dartunorro Clark - NBC News
Two groups representing rental homeowners asked a federal judge Wednesday night to block the latest eviction moratorium imposed this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to curb the coronavirus pandemic. .
The Alabama and Georgia Association of Realtors argued in federal court for the District of Columbia that the moratorium is "illegal."
The order is essentially an extension of the previous moratorium, which "has prevented landlords from evicting tenants who are not paying their rent in the pandemic," they say.
The groups, which have already challenged the first moratorium in court, also argued that the CDC "gave in to political pressure" after Democrats demanded that the White House extend the moratorium over the weekend.
They believe the order was thus issued "for purely political reasons: to relieve pressure, blame the courts for ending the moratorium and use the litigation delays for a political objective."
[These are the federal aid to pay rent before the new moratorium against evictions ends]
The CDC's moratorium on eviction was scheduled to expire on July 31.
But after pressure on the Biden Administration from Democratic congressmen and activists (who nevertheless failed to endorse that expansion in the House of Representatives), the CDC issued a new moratorium for regions with "substantial and high transmission" rates. of the coronavirus.
If counties improve their COVID-19 rates and
do not experience high and substantial transmission for 14 consecutive days, tenants there will no longer be protected
by the CDC moratorium.
Similarly, if coronavirus cases worsen in a county, tenants could be protected by the CDC order.
Transmission rates by county can be found on the CDC website.
The order will expire on October 3.
These are the requirements to apply for the extension of the eviction moratorium
Aug. 4, 202102: 11
At the start of the pandemic, Congress imposed a temporary ban on evictions, which expired in July 2020. With Donald Trump in the White House, the CDC then issued an order banning evictions until March, which Biden then extended.
A federal judge in Washington ruled in May that the CDC had no power to issue the moratorium on foreclosures.
But the judge suspended the order to give the government time to appeal.
A federal appeals court refused to lift the suspension, leaving the moratorium in place.
[I have not been able to pay the rent, what can I do now? We answer questions about the end of the moratorium on evictions]
The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote in late June, allowed the eviction ban to remain in effect until late July.
Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who voted with the majority, wrote a concurring opinion arguing that congressional action would be required to extend it further.
Several workers break furniture left by an evicted tenant after a 48-hour notice for violating the terms of his rental agreement in Chelsea, Massachusetts, March 29, 2021.Brian Snyder / Reuters
Now homeowners associations are relying on this ruling to support their legal attack on the new moratorium.
"The fourth extension of the CDC should be immediately annulled because it
conflicts with the Supreme Court ruling," they
said in the court document, "a majority of the Supreme Court made it clear that the eviction moratorium exceeds the statutory authority of the CDC and could not extend beyond July 31, thus vindicating the first judgment on the merits of this Court. The judgment of the Supreme Court was not ambiguous. "