CARES Act - when can I evict?

Question

Hello, so I'm confused about something. Courts have been hearing eviction cases in my area for about a month. I haven't had to evict anyone since last year, but I was in eviction court today as a "representative" for a colleague/landlord who could not attend.

Ironically enough, I now have to serve a tenant tomorrow for having an unauthorized pet. They receive assistance from the YWCA, which recently sent me a letter saying that eviction moratoriums and the CARES act were in effect until August 24th.

Can I still serve/evict this tenant? I'm confused since I was just in court witnessing evictions, but this letter says I need to wait until Aug 24th.

Account Closed · Answer

@Nathan G.

Spoke with attorney. Seems the CARES Act/Moratorium applies when federal money is involved...so in this case, the grant being provided to tenant by YWCA. Since I would be evicting for something other than non-payment, I can still serve them.

Joe Splitrock · Answer

Speaking only for the CARES Act, it only covered evictions for non-payment and only on government backed Freddie / Fannie loans or Section 8 tenants. Just be aware with unauthorized pet that the tenant could try to claim emotion support or service animal as a defense. Be ready to respond to that by providing proof they referred to it as a pet.

Also note that some states had (and have) eviction bans on top of the federal ban. Some of those are ongoing and some covered more than non-payment. I don't think Ohio is one of those states. Bottom line, it is good you have a local attorney. That is what anyone needs to do in these cases, because this is very local.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Again, it varies. I've heard some areas have a moratorium on evictions for failure to pay rent but they are allowing evictions for other reasons like criminal activity.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Check with an attorney because there are other factors. There is/was a moratorium on homes with federally backed loans, but there were also certain cities/states that created their own rules.

Bob Okenwa · Answer

There are states that have extended eviction moratoriums beyond the time frame of the CARES Act so you'd want to check to see what your state has set in place as a date for evictions.

FHA & FHFA have extended single family eviction moratoriums until 8/31/20 per their website. I'd still check with local officials to see what's going on in your state.

Account Closed · Answer

@Nathan G.

Thanks. Yes, I'm going to check with my attorney tomorrow. I have a portfolio loan on the property...not sure if that matters. Also, would cities allow some evictions but not others? As I mentioned, I was just in court today and there were a bunch of evictions going on. Just not understanding why those would be allowed, but mine would not be (atleast according to the letter I received).

Patti Robertson · Answer

Where that date came from is the Act said after the deadline of July 25, we have to give a 30 day quit notice, not the 3, 5, 10, or whatever you state normally requires. In my PM office we sent out two letters this month. Our regular 5 day letter for the properties that don’t fall under the CARES Act, and a 30 day letter that is identical to the 5 day except for the # of days, for the properties that do fall under the CARES Act. It’s a pain, but that’s what we have to do.

CARES Act - when can I evict?

CARES Act - when can I evict?

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