Rental Assistance Still Available while Eviction Moratorium Being Challenged

The most recent eviction moratorium is still in effect … for now.

However, those in the Huntsville area who are having trouble meeting their rent payments would be wise to seek help from rental assistance programs as the moratorium’s future is still anything but certain.

Last Friday, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich allowed the revised extension of the moratorium to remain in place, denying a request from various landlord associations across the nation that she block it. 

Friedrich ruled in favor of the moratorium extension, originally set to expire July 31, that the Biden administration describes as “targeted” because it applies only in counties where COVID-19 transmission rates are deemed by the Center for Disease Control as “substantial or high.”

This designation covers Madison County as well as 85% of all counties in the United States.

In her ruling, Friedrich said the new moratorium is an extension of the previous one which was upheld in a 5-4 ruling from the Supreme Court in June.

However, Justice Brett Kavanaugh stated in his ruling that he was only siding with the slim majority because the moratorium was set to expire barely more than a month later and that any new protection would have to be issued by Congress. 

Meanwhile, a Huntsville lawyer expressed her concerns on the future of the moratorium and encourages anyone in the area to use the rental assistance program provided by the city.

“I have real doubts that it will remain permanent law,” said Holly Ray, managing attorney for Legal Services Alabama.  “I would not be shocked at all if it was rescinded.” 

She said that for those in the city limits who need help with rent payments, the city’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) is the fastest in terms, of responding to court.

“We had a situation in early August where a tenant was set to be evicted the next day,” Ray said. “In the span of 24 hours, I made a phone call and we had someone from Catholics in Concern (one of the various local groups tasked with handling the administrative functions of the ERAP in Huntsville) arrange a check overnight and I was able to pick it up at 7 the next morning and deliver it to her landlord.” 

The program, which was launched in March, has provided $2.3 million in funding and, according to Community Development Manager Scott Erwin, funds are still available. The biggest challenge that Community Development is experiencing is the large number of applicants who begin the application process but don’t complete it. As of Aug. 2, more than 1,400 of the 2,600 total cases had not been completed.

An outreach event organized by Community Development will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church on Governors Drive. For those who need evening help, Community Development will be available on Tuesdays from 5-7 p.m., by appointment only.

Sarah Taggart, a Huntsville attorney who represents landlords in eviction cases, called the newest moratorium extension a purely political act. She said many of her clients are frustrated with the speed of the rental assistance programs were not put into place until well over a year after the pandemic had started.

”Justice Kavanaugh made it very clear in his ruling that the CDC did not have the authority to issue a moratorium on what has always been a state court action. Congress has to explicitly give the executive branch authority to do these things,” Taggert said.  “And I don’t understand why Congress acted surprised with the days leading up to the moratorium and the days after. They had access to all the same data we did in regards to enacting a new moratorium. No one really came out of that situation looking good.

“And while I do think that state rental assistance program has been sluggish in distributing the money given to them, I don’t think that changes the fundamentals of the American Constitution.” 

Taggert also said she has had clients lose their rental properties in foreclosure due to the absence of rental assistance programs at the start of the pandemic. 

In addition to the Community Development outreach programs, more information about the Huntsville ERAP can be found online at Huntsvilleal.gov/COVID-19-emergency-rental-assistance.