Eviction Moratoriums: History and Landlord Impact
Eviction moratoriums are government-issued directives that temporarily suspend or restrict a landlord's legal ability to remove tenants from rental properties. This page covers the definition, historical timeline, operational mechanics, and landlord-specific consequences of moratoriums at the federal, state, and local levels. Understanding the structure of these policies is essential background for any landlord navigating obligations under landlord-tenant law or preparing for the next eviction process.
Definition and scope
An eviction moratorium is a legally binding directive — issued by a legislative body, executive order, or regulatory agency — that halts some or all stages of the eviction process for a defined period. The scope of any given moratorium determines which tenants are protected, which lease types are covered, and which grounds for eviction remain actionable.
Moratoriums vary along four classification axes:
- Coverage breadth — some apply only to nonpayment-of-rent evictions; others freeze all eviction proceedings regardless of cause.
- Housing type — residential-only vs. protections extended to commercial tenants.
- Legal authority — federal statute, state executive order, or local ordinance.
- Duration mechanism — fixed end date vs. rolling extension tied to a declared emergency.
The most structurally significant federal moratorium in U.S. history was issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under 42 U.S.C. § 264, which grants the federal government authority to take measures to prevent the spread of communicable disease (42 U.S.C. § 264, Public Health Service Act). The CDC order, first issued in September 2020 and extended multiple times, prohibited evictions for nonpayment of rent for covered tenants who submitted a formal declaration to their landlord. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately invalidated the final extension of the CDC order in Alabama Association of Realtors v. Department of Health and Human Services, 594 U.S. ___ (2021), ruling that the CDC had exceeded its statutory authority.
Landlords subject to residential landlord rights found these orders created an entirely new compliance layer — one with federal enforcement implications separate from state landlord-tenant statutes.
How it works
A moratorium does not cancel a tenancy or forgive rent debt. It temporarily removes the landlord's access to the court system for eviction proceedings. The mechanics unfold in discrete phases:
- Declaration trigger — a public health emergency, natural disaster, or legislative session activates the authority to issue a moratorium.
- Scope definition — the issuing authority publishes the covered tenant categories (e.g., income thresholds, declaration requirements), covered housing types, and geographic reach.
- Tenant compliance step — under the CDC framework, tenants were required to submit a written declaration attesting that they met eligibility criteria, including an income cap of $99,000 for individuals or $198,000 for joint filers (CDC Moratorium Order, September 2020, Federal Register Vol. 85, No. 173).
- Landlord suspension — upon receiving a valid tenant declaration, a landlord was prohibited from filing or pursuing an unlawful detainer action. Penalties for violations included fines up to $100,000 per event where death did not result, and up to $250,000 where it did, per the Federal Register notice cited above.
- Expiration or court challenge — the moratorium lifts upon its end date or judicial invalidation, at which point landlords may resume normal unlawful detainer actions.
State and local moratoriums operated on parallel tracks. California's COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act (AB 3088, signed September 2020) created a phased system under which landlords could not evict tenants for unpaid COVID-19 rental debt accrued between March 2020 and August 2020 without first applying for rental assistance (California Legislative Information, AB 3088). New York City's moratorium, enforced through the New York City Civil Court, extended protections further through local administrative action.
Common scenarios
Scenario 1: Nonpayment during a declared emergency
A tenant stops paying rent, citing financial hardship during a federally declared disaster. The tenant submits a CDC-style declaration. The landlord receives the declaration and cannot file in housing court until the moratorium lifts. Rent debt accrues but is not legally forgiven. Once the moratorium expires, the landlord may pursue past-due amounts through eviction notice types appropriate to the jurisdiction.
Scenario 2: Lease violation unrelated to nonpayment
A tenant commits substantial property damage during an active moratorium. Depending on jurisdiction, cause-based evictions may remain available. The CDC moratorium, for example, did not protect tenants who engaged in criminal activity, threatened others, or violated applicable housing standards. Landlords must review the specific exclusions in each moratorium order before concluding all eviction avenues are closed.
Scenario 3: Commercial tenancy during a moratorium
Most federal and state moratoriums covered residential tenancies only. Commercial landlord rights were largely unaffected by the CDC order, though some localities enacted separate commercial protections. The classification of a property as residential or commercial under applicable definitions determines which framework applies.
Scenario 4: Holdover tenancy post-moratorium
When a moratorium lifts, tenants who remained past their lease term become holdover tenants. The landlord's options in this situation are governed by state law and are covered under holdover tenant landlord options.
Decision boundaries
The operative question for any landlord facing an active moratorium is not whether a moratorium exists, but whether it applies to the specific tenancy and the specific eviction ground being asserted. The following distinctions govern that determination:
Federal vs. state vs. local authority
Federal moratoriums set a floor; state and local orders may be stricter. When a California city ordinance extended protections beyond AB 3088, landlords in that city were bound by the local ordinance, not just the state law. The more restrictive instrument controls.
Covered vs. excluded grounds for eviction
Most moratoriums carve out evictions for: criminal activity on the premises, threats to health and safety of neighbors, breach of lease terms unrelated to rent payment, and nuisance conduct. Landlords asserting these excluded grounds must document the basis for eviction precisely, as housing courts scrutinize moratorium exceptions.
Rental assistance interaction
The federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, distributed $46.55 billion in two tranches (ERA1 and ERA2) to states and localities for tenant assistance (U.S. Department of the Treasury, Emergency Rental Assistance Program). Landlord participation in ERAP was generally voluntary but conditioned receipt of funds on a commitment not to evict the covered tenant for a defined period — typically 30 to 90 days after payment.
Post-moratorium debt collection
A moratorium does not extinguish the landlord's claim for unpaid rent. Upon expiration, landlords may pursue collection in small claims court, civil court, or through credit reporting mechanisms, depending on state law and the lease agreement essentials governing the tenancy.
References
- 42 U.S.C. § 264 — Public Health Service Act (U.S. Code)
- CDC Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions — Federal Register Vol. 85, No. 173 (September 4, 2020)
- California AB 3088 — COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act (California Legislative Information)
- U.S. Department of the Treasury — Emergency Rental Assistance Program
- U.S. Supreme Court — Alabama Association of Realtors v. HHS, 594 U.S. ___ (2021)
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) — Tenant Protections Overview
- Public Health Service Act Amendment — Urban Indian Organizations and Employees Deemed Part of the Public Health Service for Personal Injury Claims (enacted January 5, 2021)