U.S. Supreme Court Eliminates the CDC Eviction Moratorium – Plenty of Hurdles Still in Place For Landlords In Washington
/By: Tyler O’Brien and Whitny Norton
Some of Washington’s Landlords have been waiting since January of 2020 to evict tenants who never intend to pay their rent. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Center for Disease Control’s (“CDC”) eviction moratorium may sound like welcome news but it has little effect on Washington tenants and landlords.
l. Most Tenants Never Qualified for Protection Under the CDC Moratorium
When it was in effect, the CDC moratorium banned evictions based on defaulted rent where the tenant was specifically affected by the pandemic (i.e., fell ill, lost their job, etc.). Evictions for other causes, (i.e., illegal conduct on the premises, damage to the premises, etc.) were still allowed. Based solely on the cases that Piskel Yahne Kovarik, PLLC was exposed to through its clients, tenants rarely qualified for protection under the CDC moratorium.
Washington State’s numerous requirements, including repayment plans and Eviction Resolution Program Notices, remain in effect. For an in-depth discussion of those requirements, see the Articles below – posted at http://www.pyklawyers.com/blog:
The Fastest (and only) Way to Evict a Free-Riding Tenant – July 30, 2021
Landlords Be Wary: Washington’s New Changes to Landlord & Tenant Law – May 24, 2021
New Eviction Requirements: Repayment Plans and Waiver of Fees – May 24, 2021
ll. The U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision Does Not Affect Washington’s Moratorium
The reasoning behind the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision is straightforward. The CDC never had the authority to institute an eviction moratorium. The full opinion can be found here. The CDC claimed it had authority under a statute from 1944 which provides the Surgeon General with authorization to:
… make and enforce … regulations … to prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases from foreign countries into the States … or from one state … into any other state …
The statute goes on to say:
For purposes of carrying out and enforcing such regulations, the Surgeon General may provide for such inspection, fumigation, disinfection, sanitation, pest ex-termination, destruction of animals or articles …. and other measures as in his judgment may be necessary.
According to the Supreme Court, regulations made under this authority have generally been limited to quarantining infected individuals or prohibiting the import or sale of animal – e.g., turtles known to carry salmonella (true story – see page 3 of the opinion).
The court was not impressed with the CDC’s logic. According to the Court:
The CDC has imposed a nationwide moratorium on eviction in reliance on a decades-old statute that authorizes it to implement measures like fumigation and pest extermination. It strains credulity to believe that this statute grants the CDC the sweeping authority that it asserts.
III. Eviction is Possible with the Help of An Attorney
We can help. Piskel Yahne Kovarik, PLLC (“PYK”) is an experienced team of legal professionals offering, among other things, comprehensive legal representation to owners, property managers, and businesses.
PYK carefully tracks the frequent changes in landlord tenant law, so we can better serve our clients.
Contact our legal team today to see how we can assist you in protecting your investment.