Federal Judge Vacates Eviction Moratorium

Q: Gerald, I read that a judge cancelled the eviction moratorium. Can I evict my tenants who have not been paying now? Michael, Orange, NJ

A: Yes, that is correct, a federal judge vacated the CDC’s eviction moratorium. With or without that order, you can and should file eviction paperwork if you have tenants who have failed to pay rent or work out a payment arrangement with you. By filing the paperwork now, when landlord-tenant courts open up again, cases should be brought in the order they were filed so it will allow you to get a place in line. It remains to be seen how things will proceed in the very short term after the ruling because the federal judge agreed to put a temporary hold on her ruling as the DOJ seeks to reverse the decision on appeal. The judge gave the landlord groups that challenged the eviction moratorium until May 12th to file legal papers opposing the delay and gave the Justice Department four days to respond after the landlord groups file their legal motions. Obviously, the eviction moratorium will not last indefinitely, it’s just a question of exactly when it will be lifted. Thanks for your question, Michael.

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