The “witching hour” came on Halloween with little fanfare. That’s about to change for many Arizonans beginning this week. Arizona Eviction Moratorium Expired on Oct. 31, But Tenants May Qualify For CDC Eviction Protection:
Governor Doug Ducey’s Executive Order extending a moratorium on residential evictions during the pandemic [expired on] Oct. 31.
Governor Doug Ducey did not extend his eviction moratorium executive order.
The CDC’s nationwide eviction moratorium will remain in place until the end of the year, but tenants need to be proactive if they want to claim that protection.
Even with the CDC order in place, Pam Bridge, director of litigation and advocacy with Community Legal Services, expects to see more evictions in Arizona with the expiration of the state order.
“I believe that we will see an increase of motions filed on Monday, which means that there is going to be an increase of tenants who are evicted from their homes,” Bridge said. “I think it’s something we should all worry about, because we’re still in a pandemic. Tenants evicted from their homes is a health hazard for landlords, tenants, all of us.”
To qualify under the CDC’s order, renters must meet income requirements, show they’ve suffered financial hardship, make best efforts to apply for housing assistance, make partial rent payments if possible, and meet other requirements. Bridge said even if they’ve given their landlord a written declaration to qualify for the state’s order, tenants must also give their landlords a declaration of the CDC requirements signed by all adults on the lease as soon as possible.
“These tenants may begin to be locked out [this] week. So it’s really important that those tenants, if they qualify under the CDC order, give their landlords a CDC declaration,” Bridge said.
Multiple rental assistance programs are available in Arizona through the state, counties, cities, and nonprofits. Arizona also has resources available to rental property owners to prevent foreclosure.
For more information on the CDC’s eviction protection program, click here.
The state will make an additional $2 million available for Arizona renters who need assistance paying their rent due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Doug Ducey announced last Wednesday. State adds $2 million for rental aid program that has only helped 7% of applicants:
The new funding will primarily go to address pending applications for renters in Phoenix, said Ducey spokesman Patrick Ptak.
“This $2M will be primarily to address the over 5,500 applications in Phoenix, but a small portion may also be used to address applications in the balance of the state,” Ptak said in an email.
The $2 million funding is an addition to the $5 million that the Arizona Department of Housing had available to assist renters through its COVID-19 Rental Eviction Assistance Program, which launched at the end of March.
As of Oct. 26, more than $4 million of the funds had been distributed statewide, according to an ADH report.
That state funds has only helped a small percentage of thousands of renters who’ve applied for assistance.
According to the ADH data, only 2,150 people since March have benefited from the state-funded Arizona’s COVID-19 rental assistance program. That is about 7% of the 29,000 renters who have turned to the state for help paying their rent.
The program offers up to $2,000 a month for renters who meet certain income requirements and have no financial means to pay their landlords. Renters apply through the ADH website or by phone and, depending on where the person lives, applications are administered by 11 public and private groups called Community Action Agencies.
To apply visit, www.saveourhomeaz.gov/ra/. Renters can also call 211 and press 6 for COVID-19, select a language, and then press 3 for eviction prevention.
The CDC Eviction Moratorium expires at the end of the year, on December 31, 2020. Happy New Year.
Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress are opposed to any further coronavirus pandemic relief, including dealing with this eviction crisis.
The Aspen Institute warns, The COVID-19 Eviction Crisis: an Estimated 30-40 Million People in America Are at Risk (lede paragraph):
The United States may be facing the most severe housing crisis in its history. According to the latest analysis of weekly US Census data, as federal, state, and local protections and resources expire and in the absence of robust and swift intervention, an estimated 30–40 million people in America could be at risk of eviction in the next several months. Many property owners, who lack the credit or financial ability to cover rental payment arrears, will struggle to pay their mortgages and property taxes and maintain properties. The COVID-19 housing crisis has sharply increased the risk of foreclosure and bankruptcy, especially among small property owners; long-term harm to renter families and individuals; disruption of the affordable housing market; and destabilization of communities across the United States.
Keep this in mind while voting. . . Republicans don’t care.
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