With the nationwide ban on evictions set to expire on Saturday, and the Biden administration citing a recent Supreme Court ruling that the executive branch does not have the power to extend it beyond July 31, the White House called on Congress to extend the freeze, citing the rise in cases due to the highly contagious delta variant.


What You Need To Know

  • The Biden administration is calling on Congress to extend the federal moratorium on evictions, which is set to expire on Saturday, July 31, citing the spread of the delta variant of COVID-19

  • In a 5-4 decision last month, the Supreme Court ruled that the eviction ban could continue through the end of July, but Justice Brett Kavanaugh made clear he would block any additional extensions unless there was "clear and specific congressional authorization"

  • The moratorium was put in place last September by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under former President Donald Trump

  • By the end of March, 6.4 million American households were behind on their rent, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development

"Given the recent spread of the delta variant, including among those Americans both most likely to face evictions and lacking vaccinations, President Biden would have strongly supported a decision by the CDC to further extend this eviction moratorium to protect renters at this moment of heightened vulnerability," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has made clear that this option is no longer available."

In a 5-4 decision last month, the nation's highest court ruled that the eviction ban could continue through the end of July. Justice Brett Kavanaugh made clear he would block any additional extensions unless there was "clear and specific congressional authorization."

"In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling, the President calls on Congress to extend the eviction moratorium to protect such vulnerable renters and their families without delay," Psaki continued. She also noted that President Joe Biden has asked the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture and Veterans Affairs "to extend their respective eviction moratoria through the end of September."

The moratorium was put in place last September by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under former President Donald Trump. The freeze has been extended multiple times, citing the ongoing pandemic.

By the end of March, 6.4 million American households were behind on their rent, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. As of July 5, roughly 3.6 million people in the U.S. said they faced eviction in the next two months, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in June this would be the last time the moratorium would be extended when she set the deadline for July 31. It was initially put in place to prevent further spread of COVID-19 by people put out on the streets and into shelters.

Housing advocates and some lawmakers have called for the moratorium to be extended due to the increase in coronavirus cases and the fact so little rental assistance has been distributed.

Congress has allocated nearly $47 billion in rental assistance that is supposed to go to help tenants pay off months of back rent. But so far, only about $3 billion of the first tranche of $25 billion has been distributed through June by states and localities. Some states like New York have distributed almost nothing, while several have only approved a few million dollars.

“The confluence of the surging delta variant with 6.5 million families behind on rent and at risk of eviction when the moratorium expires demands immediate action,” Diane Yentel, executive director of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, said.

“The public health necessity of extended protections for renters is obvious. If federal court cases made a broad extension impossible, the Biden administration should implement all possible alternatives, including a more limited moratorium on federally backed properties.”

The trouble getting rental assistance to those who need it has prompted the Biden administration to hold several events in the past month aimed at pressuring states and cities to increase their distribution, coax landlords to participate and make it easier for tenants to get money directly.

Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta also has released an open letter to state courts around the country encouraging them to pursue measures that would keep eviction cases out of the courts. On Wednesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unveiled a tool that allows tenants to find information about rental assistance in their area.

Despite these efforts, some Democratic lawmakers had demanded the administration extend the moratorium.

“This pandemic is not behind us, and our federal housing policies should reflect that stark reality. With the United States facing the most severe eviction crisis in its history, our local and state governments still need more time to distribute critical rental assistance to help keep a roof over the heads of our constituents,” Democratic U.S. Reps. Cori Bush of Missouri, Jimmy Gomez of California and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts said in a joint statement.

But landlords, who have opposed the moratorium and challenged it repeatedly in court, were against any extension. They have argued the focus should be on speeding up the distribution of rental assistance.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.