On August 8, 2020, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order addressing residential evictions. Please read after the jump break for the full breakdown (I promise it's fairly brief).
Generally, it is up to the states to set their own eviction moratoriums. However, the President's moratorium applies to housing that is federally funded or otherwise subject to a FHA loan.
When looking at the text of the Executive Order itself, it does NOT create a blanket moratorium on residential evictions, whether COVID-19 related or not.
Section 1 outlines the purpose of the order - we have a pandemic and it is greatly affecting millions of people in America in a disproportionate manner.
Section 2 acknowledges that the U.S. wants to minimize evictions and foreclosures during the pandemic.
Section 3 is the meat of the order, which breaks down as follows:
- The Secretary of Health and Human Services and Director of the CDC only considers whether any measures to halting residential evictions are reasonably necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19 between multiple states/jurisdictions.
- The Secretary of the Treasury (currently Steven Mnuchin) and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development must identify and make available any federal funds to provide temporary financial assistance to residential tenants and homeowners who otherwise cannot pay their rent or their mortgage, respectively. While it can help a chunk of homeowners and tenants, this does NOT apply to all situations. This also does not outline exactly how this will be accomplished, deferring to Mnuchin and HUD to make the call.
- The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development must take action to promote ways tenants and homeowners can avoid eviction and foreclosure, respectively. Any action must be appropriate and consistent with applicable law. This subsection also does not mandate providing assistance to eligible persons, using the word "may" in the language. This does NOT add anything to already-existing procedures, and merely serves as a reminder to HUD that they should take action.
- The Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency will consult with the Secretary of the Treasury will review all laws, state governor orders, and other resources related to eviction moratoriums. This arguably has limited jurisdiction and scope. As noted above, it is usually up to the states to more fully address moratoriums.
