© 2024 Ideastream Public Media

1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115
(216) 916-6100 | (877) 399-3307

WKSU is a public media service licensed to Kent State University and operated by Ideastream Public Media.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

What Does Extended Eviction Moratorium Mean For Tenants And Landlords?

On The Sound of Ideas, we talk about the federal eviction moratorium being extended until the end of June. [Slava Dumchev/shutterstock]
On The Sound of Ideas, we talk about the federal eviction moratorium being extended until the end of June. [Slava Dumchev/shutterstock]

Evictions are hard in normal times, but they're even tougher in the middle of a pandemic.

A November 2020 study from the Social Science Research Network found that evictions can actually accelerate the spread COVID-19, because they force people to live in crowded homes, with other family members or friends, or in congregate settings, like homeless shelters. 

Millions of Americans are at risk for eviction. According to the Census Bureau, more than 8 million households are currently behind on their rent, including a half million Ohioans. 

That's partly why the Centers for Disease Control extended the federal evictions moratorium that was supposed to expire yesterday. The new deadline, is the end of June. 

But the moratorium doesn't mean evictions still can't happen.

We can't forget that the eviction moratorium has been tough on landlords as well, who are trying to pay their own bills while renters struggle to make those payments to them. 

We'll start The Sound of Ideas by talking about what the moratorium means for renters and landlords, and about how the courts have interpreted the order -- interpretations being far from uniform. 

Last month, US District Judge J. Philip Calabrese ruled that the CDC lacked the authority to implement a moratorium nationwide at all, but allowed the moratorium to be enforced while the case makes its way through the courts. Besides Ohio, a Tennessee court has ruled similarly. 

Later in the hour, in honor of baseball's opening day, we'll bring you a story about the Cleveland Indians in the 1940s, as they wrestled with integration on the way to a World Series title.

-John Petit, Managing Attorney, Community Legal Aid

-Lauren Green-Hull, Associate Director, Fair Housing Contact Service 

-Frank White, a Landlord with Hidden Treasure Properties

Rachel is the supervising producer for Ideastream Public Media’s morning public affairs show, the “Sound of Ideas.”