The Biden administration is calling on Congress to extend pandemic protections for renters facing eviction past the end of this week, arguing that it is unable to do so on its own after the Supreme Court signaled it could only be extended until the end of the month.
The moratorium was put in place last September by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and has been extended several times since then.
With that moratorium on evictions ending, what does that mean in Minnesota? It’s good news for renters concerned about losing their home according to Jennifer Ho, the Commissioner of Minnesota Housing. She talked to WCCO’s Mark Freie about what this means in Minnesota.
“Minnesota has had stronger protections around renters and evictions throughout the pandemic,” Ho tells WCCO. “And then the Minnesota Legislature passed a law that created what they called an ‘off-ramp’ to the evictions moratorium. Because our off-ramp is in state law, it kind of supersedes the CDC’s evictions moratorium that’s ending this weekend.”
In other words, the Federal end to the moratorium doesn’t mean anything in Minnesota.
Legislators in both the Minnesota House and Senate announcing back in June an agreement to phase-out the state's eviction moratorium. The deal is described as a 105-day off-ramp that gives both protection to renters and a clear timeline to landlords for landlords to secure rental assistance.
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The key date for renters is in September Ho says, but adds there’s an added layer of protection for certain people who qualify for more assistance.
“Basically for folks who just can't pay (rent), they can't be evicted until September 12th,” says Ho. “If you're eligible for emergency rental assistance and the Federal Government has given the state a lot of emergency room, you need to apply. Then you have protection against eviction. That's for anybody who applies all the way out through June 1st of next year.
So that's a really long off ramp for people who are income eligible and who apply.”
That doesn’t mean, however, that there are no protections for owners dealing with renters who refuse to pay. Ho says they do have options.
“As of July 14th your property manager could move on an eviction or terminate your release if you refuse to apply for assistance,” she says. “The property manager can move on that.”
Ho adds that rental assistance through the state has saved people millions of dollars through the pandemic and says patience from both renters and owners is key.
“We've put out over $26 million so far in payments for people who are behind,” she says. “We're making improvements in the system every day. I think is the most important thing for people to understand is that the Legislature gave us time process the applications. So put in an application. It's best when the owner and the renter work together and get all the information that we're going to need to process it. Then just have some patience while we work through the file.”