The CDC's eviction moratorium finally ended at midnight on July 31, 2021.
The moratorium could not be extended because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the CDC exceeded its statutory authority and lacked the power to issue an eviction moratorium in the first place. Thus, any future federal moratorium will need to be created by Congress via legislation. Congress tried to organize something late last week to pursue legislation but didn't have enough people on board to move forward.
So what happens now?
Congress could still try to pass legislation creating another eviction moratorium in the future. From what I have read to date, this is unlikely, however. The Governor could also try to create another state eviction moratorium, as he did last year. The President is urging all states without a state eviction moratorium in place to create one.
So we are back to square one, except now we have many more tenants who have not paid rent and a truly staggering accumulation of rent arrears. We also have more and more landlords in trouble, and if it is not too late already, they cannot afford to wait any longer. It is not a good situation by any stretch of the imagination. So how do we move forward from here?
One option, and probably the best if your tenant is willing to cooperate and the only issue is their inability to pay rent, is to work with your tenant to apply for Emergency Rental Assistance funds (ERAP). Millions of dollars are still available to distribute to housing providers. This option is certainly preferable for most landlords, tenants, and the community at large, but the process takes time. Community Advocates, which distributes ERAP funds for Milwaukee and Waukesha counties, estimates that once an employee is assigned to an application, the housing provider will receive funding in about 30 days. However, delays in assigning an employee to handle the application can extend the waiting period. SDC, which is administering the ERAP funds for the City of Milwaukee, has a similar waiting period. Additionally, as many of you have learned the hard way, the application process can take time and can easily get derailed by an uncooperative tenant or missing documentation.
Another benefit of working with your tenant to apply for ERAP funds is that this option is pretty much the only way to guarantee payment of your past-due rent. ERAP funds can cover up to 12 months of rent arrears as well as 3 future months of rent, as long as the tenant continues to reside in the rental property. If the tenant vacates or you evict the tenant, you will not be eligible for ERAP funds.
While applying for ERAP funding has many benefits, it also has a major downside: it requires the landlord to be patient and wait even longer to receive money that was due months ago. Many landlords can't wait any longer. Many aren't willing to wait any longer.
A second option is to try to mediate a resolution without filing an eviction.
Mediate Milwaukee has indicated it is willing to get involved at no financial cost to the housing provider, and it may be able to either convince the tenant to cooperate in the ERAP application process or mediate another resolution, such as a move-out date, without the landlord having to file an eviction.
The third option is to evict. For tenants who refuse to cooperate with the ERAP application process, this route may be necessary. While the landlord can initiate the application process, the tenant must cooperate in order for the money to be paid out. Eviction may also be the only option if the tenant engages in non-rent-related breaches, such as criminal activity, that disrupt other tenants and/or damage the landlord's property. Again, a landlord will not be able to recoup his/her lost rent if eviction is pursued.
The eviction process may also take longer than usual, as the Courts have never encountered a scenario like the one we are currently facing. I have read that Milwaukee County has a backlog of approximately 3,000 evictions that have been repeatedly adjourned each time the moratorium was extended. Most of these cases are scheduled to be heard in August or early September. Despite this volume, Milwaukee County has reserved spots in its daily calendar for newly filed evictions. Nonetheless, I expect delays in getting a court date will be longer than during pre-COVID times. Pursuing an eviction also adds financial costs for the landlord, not to mention the many negative consequences for the tenant and disruption to the tenant's family, etc.
I am not in your shoes, so I can't tell you what the best option is. I know several landlords that have already been pushed so far that they have had to sell their properties. I also know other landlords who are livid that they have had to use up their savings and retirement accounts to house tenants unwilling to even make the effort to help the landlord complete the ERAP application. There are no winners here - just losers.
If you can wait a month or more to receive the ERAP funds, this is most likely the only option you will have to be made whole. It will also be the least costly from a financial standpoint, since you won't incur eviction filing costs or the costs to turn the unit over. But if you have uncooperative or disruptive tenants who also may not be able to pay rent, you are between a rock and a hard place with no good option.
One place to look for assistance is the Rental Housing Resource Center, which is a collaboration of various stakeholders in the housing community, including the Apartment Association of SE Wisconsin. Unfortunately, there is no one perfect solution for everyone right now, but hopefully enough solutions will become available to help everyone.
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