NAHRO Interim CEO Issues Statement on Eviction Moratorium

In response to the news that the Supreme Court rejected the CDC’s latest eviction ban, NAHRO Interim CEO Mike Gerber issued the following statement:

Last night the Supreme Court overturned the eviction moratorium put in place by the CDC. The Supreme Court ruled that without Congressional action, the CDC does not have statutory authority to impose the moratorium. In light of this, NAHRO strongly recommends that PHAs work closely with their tenants and landlords to ensure those that are eligible for emergency rental funds apply and receive assistance before taking any action – this is critical for PHAs to ensure the health and safety of the residents they serve. HUD has provided PHAs broad flexibilities through the COVID-19 waivers that PHAs can utilize to help ensure residents impacted by the pandemic remain in their homes. NAHRO continues to advocate working with Congress, Treasury, and HUD to ensure PHAs can efficiently and quickly serve low-income families affected by COVID to stabilize their housing.

NAHRO calls on the state and local ERAP grantees to prioritize distributing these life-saving emergency rental funds to our nation’s families most impacted by COVID rather than focus on complex applications and confusing processes. Bulk landlord applications and tenant/landlord self-certification are just some of the flexibilities that the Treasury allows, and state and local grantees must implement them. The nation’s more than 3,400 housing authorities stand ready and able to assist state and local grantees in distributing emergency rental funds to tenants and landlords using their knowledge of the local rental market and through their comprehensive networks of local service providers and community partners.