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 The order covers all 43 million U.S. residential renters as long as
they meet income eligibility requirements, although an
administration official said the government does not expect an
"overwhelming" use of the program.
The order lasts through Dec. 31 and applies to individual renters
who do not expect to earn more than $99,000 this year or $198,000
for joint filers. It also applies to renters who did not report
income in 2019 or received a stimulus check earlier this year.
The National Apartment Association said the CDC order risked further
harm to the economy and would amplify the housing affordability
crisis and destroy the rental housing industry. Without payments
"owners face a financial crisis of their own," it said.
Renters must file sworn declarations warning eviction would leave
them homeless or force them into a "shared living setting" and
attest they have done all they can to get government assistance for
rent or housing."
The administration warned renters could be "prosecuted, go to jail,
or pay a fine" if they lie in declarations.
An administration official told reporters the order was not an
invitation to stop paying rent and said renters should pay a portion
of rent if possible. Renters will still owe accrued rent and face
penalties for failing to pay.
The CDC order also said renters can "still be evicted for reasons
other than not paying rent or making a housing payment."
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told a U.S. House of
Representatives panel earlier the measure was to ensure people
"don't get thrown out of their rental homes."
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In July, a firm estimated more than $21.5 billion in past-due rent is owed by
Americans.
As unemployment surged to levels unseen since the aftermath of the 1930s Great
Depression, a patchwork of federal, state and local eviction bans has kept
renters who could not make payments in homes.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Aug. 8 directed CDC to consider if temporarily
halting residential evictions was "reasonably necessary to prevent the further
spread of COVID-19."
The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill in May to
extend enhanced jobless aid through January and allocating $100 billion for
rental assistance. It would extend the federal ban on evictions for up to one
year. The bill has not been approved in the Senate.
A spokesman for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden questioned why it
took so long for Trump to back the moratorium and noted Biden backed the House
proposal.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Tom Brown and Richard Pullin)
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