Eviction Moratorium Extended

On August 31, 2020, Governor DeSantis extended the statewide moratorium on residential evictions originally declared on April 2, 2020 (Executive Order 20- 52). In subsequent executive orders, in particular, Executive Order 20-180 dated July 29, 2020, the Governor had clarified that the moratorium on residential evictions does not prevent the filing of an eviction action, but directs courts to withhold final judgments on such actions when a tenant was adversely affected 2 by the COVID-19 emergency, such as in the case of loss of employment, diminished income and other monetary loss during the Florida state of emergency in effect since March 9, 2020.

The eviction moratorium is now extended until October 1, 2020. Note that commercial leases remain unaffected by the moratorium in Florida. At the federal level, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has extended until December 31, 2020, the nationwide moratorium on all evictions for tenants living in properties subject to a single-family mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration. As part of its emergency powers, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has also ordered a ban on residential evictions, which lasts through December 31, 2020. The CDC ban on evictions is specifically aimed at fighting the spread of COVID-19 by providing access to a place for self-isolation and quarantine along with avoiding situation of unsheltered homelessness, which provide for a significantly greater risk of virus transmission. The CDC moratorium applies only in the absence of state measures of similar or greater scope and requires tenants wishing to invoke the CDC moratorium to provide a sworn declaration to the landlord confirming the circumstances surrounding their inability to pay and how they were caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

While evictions moratoria have the effect of procedurally avoiding the completion of an eviction process and do not extinguish the obligation to pay rent, it appears clear that landlords are unlikely to recover the full amount of unpaid rent. Further, as rent payments are not received, landlords may find themselves unable to make payments related to the rental property, such as condominium association fees, property taxes and mortgage payments.

With respect to mortgage payments only, the State of Florida maintains a moratorium on residential foreclosures, which can provide some partial relief for landlords. Note, however, that similarly to the eviction moratorium, the obligation to make loan payments is not extinguished. Therefore, once the moratorium expires, landlords may find themselves in an asymmetric position in which they will have to pay any overdue mortgage payment under the threat of a foreclosure of their property, while potentially being unable to collect on an unsecured debt from their tenant (the overdue rent). Should you have concerns regarding your rental property and making mortgage payments in the wake of the pandemic, we encourage you to contact us to discuss possible strategies to seek a work out with the lender.