Gov Ron DeSantis on Wednesday opted to allow the state’s stay-on-eviction order to expire.
The order was first signed in April and was intended to suspend evictions and foreclosures against those economically-impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, renters impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic remain shielded from eviction by a CDC order.
Unlike the state order, however, the CDC’s order does not protect homeowners from foreclosures.
“Today, Governor DeSantis permitted Executive Order 20-211 to expire,” the order says. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently enacted a nationwide residential evictions Order that provides federal eviction relief to persons who submit a valid Declaration to their landlord regarding their inability to pay rent.”
While Democrats and civil rights activists had pushed DeSantis to extend the order throughout the year, the order says it was allowed to expire to prevent confusion between the two orders.
“The State’s mortgage foreclosure and eviction relief was permitted to expire to avoid any confusion over whether the CDC’s evictions Order should apply in a particular circumstance,” the order says.
The CDC’s order is set to expire on Dec. 31 but came under threat of lawsuit earlier this month.
The National Civil Liberties Alliance filed a complaint against the CDC order and requested a temporary restraining order in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
The lawsuit challenges the CDC’s authority to impose the “Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions to Prevent Further Spread of COVID-19” order, which claims blocking residential evictions will help stop the spread of COVID-19. The federal order blocks landlords from retaking possession of their property through eviction.
The lawsuit, meanwhile, argues the CDC does not have the authority to issue an eviction-moratorium order because these agencies have no right to make law.
DeSantis on Wednesday also announced that county and city government boards will be allowed one more month of online meetings before in-person meetings must resume.
The Governor’s decisions comes after he pushed the state into Phase 3 of his COVID-19 recovery plan.
This article first appeared at Florida Politics.
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