The U.S. Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Marcia L. Fudge, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen, and Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice Merrick B. Garland sent a letter last week to state and local government leaders addressing the eviction moratorium.
The letter urged government leaders to:
– Enact state and local eviction moratoriums during the remainder of the public health emergency.
– Work with state and local courts to require landlords to apply for ERAP before they commence eviction proceedings
– Stay eviction proceedings while an ERAP application is pending.
– Use ERAP and American Rescue Plan State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to support the right to counsel and eviction diversion strategies.
– Help tenants navigate the ERAP application process.
“We applaud the efforts of the state and local governments that have already taken these and other actions to prevent unnecessary evictions, as we know many of you have,” the letter read. “However, we also know more must be done and that effective and comprehensive policies to prevent unnecessary evictions have never been more urgent. We stand ready to partner with and support you in any way we can to protect renters and landlords and make programs like ERA as effective as possible.”
“Thank you for all you are doing and will continue to do to keep Americans in their homes,” the letter continued. “We will continue to engage with you over the coming days and weeks as we take on this challenge, and we welcome your input as we work together to prevent unnecessary evictions and help households in need reach the other side of this pandemic safely.”
Source: HUD
