Stephanie Adams
These are unprecedented times. Yes, the world has lived through pandemics and financial collapse, but not to this degree, simultaneously, in modern medical times and since the advent of vaccinations. According to Johns Hopkins University, the COVID 19 death toll stands at 4.4M globally. While there have been a number of deadlier pandemics in history, what has been consistent over time is a reduction in the death rate because of health care advancements. As we now know COVID 19 is deadlier and spreads easier than viruses we have known in recent times.
While most Americans remember the 2008 recession to be the worst since the Great Depression, COVID 19’s effects on world economies are shaping up to be as bad, if not worse. The average American has had to dip into retirement funds to cover costs during the pandemic. Small businesses and many industries have been harshly impacted despite the government’s attempts to keep them above water. The labor market for every state, economic sector and demographic group has been significantly impacted by COVID 19. The unemployment rate reached 14.8% in April 2020, the highest rate since data collection began in 1948.
Americans were unemployed at an all time high. A raging virus was killing people by the thousands each day. Our healthcare system was at max capacity. Businesses were shuttered. And there was uncertainty about the future. Imposing foreclosure and eviction moratoriums was necessary. The COVID 19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Act of 2020 was signed into law on December 28, 2020, protecting Americans suffering hardships due to COVID 19 until May 1, 2021. It has since been extended to August 31, 2021 and again to October 3, 2021 because of the trajectory of the Delta variance. This latest order is more limited in scope and targeting parts of the country hit hardest by the pandemic.
During this time moratoriums and evictions cannot proceed. Preceding this law, The CARES Act which began on March 27, 2020 with narrower protections covered Americans with federally backed mortgages from foreclosure and renters from eviction. Additionally, the CDC had imposed a nationwide federal moratorium on residential evictions on September 4, 2020. This was unprecedented, the agency’s reach into what is typically state and locally governed landlord-tenant law and its use of public health authority had never been seen before.
Why was this necessary? These orders were intended to prevent the spread of COVID 19 by preventing homeslessness and overcrowding of housing shelters due to evictions. During a pandemic, a halt in evictions can be an effective public health measure to prevent the spread of disease. Additionally it kept tens of millions of Americans safely housed. The government needed to step in.
Of course like many aspects of this pandemic, it is not just one group of individuals that are affected by it. The moratoriums provided the necessary protections for tenants and homeowners. However, landlords and lenders received no relief from these measures and have been saddled with the financial burden of housing these Americans and to cover their own financial obligations. If landlords cannot afford to pay property taxes, this has a trickle down effect into local services like fire departments and schools.
The stimulus packages have built in rent assistance to help with back rent. However, it has not been enough to cover the deficit. The rent assistance has been able to make a dent but there is still about 20 billion in back rent that is looming out there. The reality on the ground is that the funds have been slow to be distributed.
While I agree this was a necessary measure, we are treading on very flimsy ground. The Fifth Amendment’s Takin’s clause provides that the government cannot force some people alone to bear public burdens, which in all fairness and justice should be borne by the public as a whole. We are well into a year and half of this pandemic, a persistent eviction moratorium is no longer a viable answer. Continuing to ask landlords to shoulder the burden the government itself should bear is unconstitutional. The government should move swiftly to compensate landlords and end the moratoriums. The government has had enough time to figure out how to help those in need without asking others to suffer instead.
