U.S. announces 60-day moratorium on evictions in areas with high COVID-19 levels

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday announced a new 60-day moratorium on residential evictions in areas with high levels of COVID-19 infections, after having rejected an earlier push by the White House.

The order applies to about 80 per cent of U.S. counties that have substantial or high COVID-19 community transmission rates and covers about 90 per cent of the U.S. population.

"The emergence of the delta variant has led to a rapid acceleration of community transmission in the United States, putting more Americans at increased risk, especially if they are unvaccinated," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement.

"This moratorium is the right thing to do to keep people in their homes and out of congregate settings where COVID-19 spreads."

The new CDC order will protect millions of renters from eviction but will be more limited than a nationwide moratorium that expired Saturday at midnight.

On Sunday, the CDC had rejected President Joe Biden's request for a new scaled-down pandemic-related moratorium, citing a lack of legal authority stemming from a recent Supreme Court decision.

Biden had urged an extension so more than $40 billion US in unused money approved by Congress to help pay unpaid rent can be distributed to renters and landlords and keep people in their homes.

More than 15 million people in 6.5 million U.S. households are currently behind on rental payments, according to a study by the Aspen Institute and the COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project, collectively owing more than $20 billion US to landlords.

A Supreme Court opinion in June suggested that legislative approval would be required to extend the moratorium. It is unclear if the court will review the new more limited moratorium differently.

Biden on Tuesday acknowledged the legal risks of moving ahead with a new moratorium but said it will probably give some "additional time" to renters as the issue makes it way through the courts.

The CDC moratorium, which was put in place in September 2020 and kept millions of people from being forced out of their homes for unpaid rent during the pandemic, was extended for another 30 days in June and officials at the time said it would be the final extension.

But with COVID-19 rates climbing, some House Democrats led by Representative Cori Bush staged a protest outside the U.S. Capitol that put pressure on the administration to reverse course and protect renters at risk.

The new moratorium will last until Oct. 3.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, both Democrats, had urged a reinstatement of the ban after Congress was unable to do so.

"This brand new moratorium will provide time for the money allocated by Congress to flow, as it helps stop the spread of the virus, which is worsening due to the delta variant, and protects families and landlords," Pelosi said in a statement.

Biden also called on state and local governments to extend or put in place eviction bans for at the least the next two months, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said.

Some states like New York and California have already extended state eviction bans past July 31.