NEW ORLEANS — Tenants who are unable to pay rent are still protected for now. The CDC’s eviction ban goes through the rest of the month, expiring January 31, but it's come with challenges as landlords in Louisiana and across the country fight for the right to evict.
“It’s an especially critical issue for the city of New Orleans, we are a city of renters," said Davida Finger, an Associate Dean at Loyola Law School.
This eviction ban protects certain tenants who are unable to pay rent. The moratorium was extended through the month as part of the new relief bill President Trump signed a week ago, but landlords across the country have been challenging the CDC's eviction ban arguing the CDC doesn't have the authority to issue a ban like this. Two weeks ago though, a federal judge in Louisiana upheld the ban.
“The decision here follows the rational that other courts around the country have followed in terms of recognizing the authority of the CDC to make this order and supporting the public health rational of the order,” Finger said.
While many tenants have struggled to pay their rent, landlords have struggled too. Austin Badon is the First City Court Clerk in Orleans Parish.
“I take calls every day and every night,” Badon said.
He reminds tenants to be eligible for this eviction protection, they must fill out and submit a form to their landlord proving they are unable to pay rent.
“It’s an issue because we have a lot of landlords who are not getting paid, they know their tenant is still working, has not had a job loss, however under the guidelines those tenants are saying ‘well if I don’t have to pay, I’m not going to pay,” Badon said.
New York has a new state wide eviction ban until May. Badon anticipates other states could follow.
“I think Louisiana very well may look into something like that or it may come from the feds,” he said.
“It should be a critical issue that’s at the top of our policy maker’s list,” Finger said.
If the current ban does expire this month, Badon anticipates landlords will pack his office with piles of evictions ready to file.
Badon advises tenants to speak with their landlords to come up with payment plans. Otherwise he warns, they could find themselves in court soon.
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