Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down CDC’s COVID-19 Eviction Moratorium As Unlawful

Huge news breaking today as the CDC’s COVID-19 Eviction Moratorium has been deemed “unlawful” by a Federal Appellate Court.

For those who are not familiar with the Eviction Moratorium, it was issued by the CDC (Centers For Disease Control) and was a Moratorium on Evictions.

Basically, it was the CDC telling private landlords that they could not evict their tenants.

From the moment it was issued, many of us thought it was highly unlawful and blatantly unconstitutional.

Having CDC intervene in private rental contracts which are governed by state law was probably the most blatantly unconstitutional thing that happened in the past year. I called it out at the time. Glad to see the courts are too.https://t.co/mYbkEmuRmi

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) July 24, 2021

Now a Federal Appellate Court has agreed with us:

JUST IN: Federal appeals court finds CDC eviction moratorium unlawful https://t.co/5zrdp6YweM pic.twitter.com/gZkHNZvM0u

— The Hill (@thehill) July 23, 2021

Federal court unanimously rules the CDC's eviction moratorium is unlawful https://t.co/XOHBNxP3cl

— Tammy Bruce (@HeyTammyBruce) July 24, 2021

Here’s more from John Solomon’s JustTheNews:

The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled Friday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention overstepped its authority and engaged in federal overreach by issuing an eviction moratorium during the pandemic.

The Cincinnati-based federal court agreed with a lower court ruling, which had called the moratorium on evictions unlawful, according to The Epoch Times.

“It is not our job as judges to make legislative rules that favor one side or another,” Circuit Judge John Bush, who President Donald Trump appointed, said in the court’s opinion. “But nor should it be the job of bureaucrats embedded in the executive branch. While landlords and tenants likely disagree on much, there is one thing both deserve: for their problems to be resolved by their elected representatives.”

The CDC originally made the order in September 2020 to ban evictions for tenants that lost money due to the pandemic and was eventually upheld by Congress. The policy is set to expire on July 31.

And from the Epoch Times:

A federal court on Friday ruled that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) overstepped its authority by halting evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Cincinnati-based U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously agreed (pdf) with a lower court ruling that said the CDC engaged in federal overreach with the eviction moratorium, which the agency has consistently extended for months. Several weeks ago, the CDC announced it would allow the policy, which was passed into law by Congress, to expire at the end of July.

“It is not our job as judges to make legislative rules that favor one side or another,” the judges wrote. “But nor should it be the job of bureaucrats embedded in the executive branch. While landlords and tenants likely disagree on much, there is one thing both deserve: for their problems to be resolved by their elected representatives.”

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The ruling upheld one handed down by U.S. District Judge Mark Norris, who in March blocked enforcement of the moratorium throughout western Tennessee.

Under the moratorium, tenants who have lost income during the pandemic can declare under penalty of perjury that they’ve made their best effort to pay rent on time. The CDC claimed the measure was necessary to prevent people from having to enter overcrowded conditions if they were evicted, which would, according to the agency, impact public health.

Previously, the CDC’s lawyers argued in court filings that Congress authorized the eviction freeze as part of its COVID-19 relief legislation, while simultaneously asserting that the moratorium was within its authority. Those arguments were rejected by the three-panel appeals court on Friday.

Epoch Times Photo
Demonstrators call for a rent strike during the COVID-19 pandemic as they pass City Hall in Los Angeles, Calif., on May 1, 2020. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)
“What’s the difference between executive-branch experts and congressional ones? Executive-branch experts make regulations; congressional experts make recommendations,” the appeals court wrote. “Congressional bureaucracy leaves the law-making power with the people’s representatives—right where the Founders put it.”

But last month, the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision rejected a different plea by landlords to end the ban on evictions.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh had written in an opinion (pdf) that while he believes that the CDC had exceeded its authority by implementing the moratorium, he voted against ending it because the policy is set to expire July 31.