Eviction Moratoriums: History and Current Status
Eviction moratoriums are government-imposed suspensions or limitations on a landlord's legal ability to remove tenants from rental housing. This page covers the regulatory history of eviction moratoriums in the United States, how moratorium mechanisms operate, the scenarios in which they are invoked, and the legal boundaries that distinguish protected from unprotected tenancies. Understanding this topic is essential context for any analysis of the eviction process overview or landlord-tenant law overview.
Definition and scope
An eviction moratorium is a legally enforceable order — issued by a federal agency, state legislature, state executive, or local government — that temporarily prohibits or restricts the filing of eviction actions, the execution of eviction judgments, or both. Moratoriums do not cancel rent obligations; they suspend enforcement mechanisms available to landlords during a defined period.
The scope of a moratorium is bounded by three variables: geographic jurisdiction (federal, state, county, or municipal), covered tenancy type (residential only, or including commercial), and qualifying criteria (income thresholds, hardship declarations, or categorical coverage).
The most significant federal moratorium in U.S. history was issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under 42 U.S.C. § 264, which grants the Secretary of Health and Human Services authority to make regulations necessary to prevent the spread of communicable disease. The CDC order, first issued in September 2020 and extended multiple times through August 2021, prohibited evictions for nonpayment of rent for tenants who submitted a qualifying hardship declaration (CDC Federal Eviction Moratorium, 85 Fed. Reg. 55292).
The U.S. Supreme Court in Alabama Association of Realtors v. Department of Health and Human Services, 594 U.S. ___ (2021), held that the CDC had exceeded its statutory authority, effectively ending federal moratorium authority under that provision. State and local moratoriums operated independently under state police powers and varied widely in duration and scope.
How it works
A moratorium operates through a layered enforcement structure. The following breakdown describes the typical process from issuance to expiration:
- Issuance — A legislative body passes a statute, or an executive authority issues an emergency order invoking public health, housing emergency, or disaster-relief powers. The order defines the covered period, tenant eligibility, and landlord obligations.
- Tenant declaration or application — Under declaration-based models (such as the CDC framework), tenants submit a signed hardship statement to their landlord. Under categorical models, coverage is automatic for all tenants in the jurisdiction.
- Filing suspension — Courts in the covered jurisdiction halt the acceptance of new unlawful detainer actions or stay proceedings already filed. Some moratoriums specifically prohibit eviction notice types such as pay-or-quit notices.
- Enforcement prohibition — Sheriffs and constables are directed not to execute writs of possession during the covered period.
- Expiration or termination — The moratorium lifts on a specified date, by executive rescission, or by judicial invalidation. Upon expiration, landlords may resume normal eviction procedures, though "notice cure" periods sometimes require re-serving notices.
Comparison: Declaration-based vs. Categorical moratoriums
| Feature | Declaration-based | Categorical |
|---|---|---|
| Tenant action required | Yes — signed hardship form | No — automatic |
| Income threshold | Often required | Not required |
| Landlord notice | Tenant submits to landlord | Operates by operation of law |
| Enforcement | Tenant may still be evicted if declaration not filed | No filing permitted regardless |
| Example | CDC federal order (2020–2021) | Los Angeles County Temporary Eviction Moratorium (2020) |
The California Tenant, Homeowner, and Small Landlord Relief and Stabilization Act of 2020 (AB 3088) created a hybrid model: it prohibited evictions for COVID-19-related nonpayment but required tenants to pay 25 percent of rent owed between September 2020 and January 2021 to retain protection (California Legislative Information, AB 3088).
Common scenarios
Scenario 1: Public health emergency
The most documented trigger. Federal, state, and local governments invoked moratoriums during the COVID-19 pandemic. At peak coverage in 2020, the National Low Income Housing Coalition documented protections in 43 states and the District of Columbia (NLIHC Eviction Moratorium Tracker).
Scenario 2: Natural disaster
FEMA-declared disaster areas sometimes trigger temporary state moratoriums under state emergency management statutes. Following Hurricane Katrina (2005), Louisiana issued emergency rules restricting evictions in affected parishes. The mechanism is the state governor's emergency powers, not federal housing law.
Scenario 3: Local housing emergency declarations
Cities and counties with rent stabilization infrastructure, such as those operating under rent control and stabilization laws, have issued standalone moratoriums tied to declared housing emergencies — independent of any broader state action.
Scenario 4: Legislative rent relief coupling
Moratoriums are frequently paired with rental assistance programs. The Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, distributed approximately $46.5 billion in two tranches (ERA1 and ERA2) to keep tenants housed and landlords solvent during the federal moratorium period (U.S. Department of the Treasury, Emergency Rental Assistance Program).
Decision boundaries
Moratoriums do not create unlimited protections. The following boundaries define where moratorium coverage ends:
Covered vs. uncovered nonpayment: Most moratoriums protect against evictions for nonpayment caused by a qualifying hardship. Evictions for lease violations unrelated to payment — such as property damage, criminal activity, or self-help eviction prohibitions violations by landlords — were explicitly carved out of the CDC order and most state analogs.
Residential vs. commercial: Federal moratoriums applied exclusively to residential tenancies. Commercial tenants falling under commercial lease agreements were largely excluded from moratorium protections, though a small number of states enacted limited commercial protections.
Income and documentation thresholds: The CDC order required tenants to attest that household income was at or below $99,000 (single filer) or $198,000 (joint filer), or that the tenant received a stimulus check, experienced income reduction, or faced eviction would render them homeless. Missing or defective declarations voided protection.
Post-moratorium rent accrual: Moratoriums uniformly preserved landlord rights to collect accrued unpaid rent after expiration. Tenants who relied on moratorium protection accumulated rent debt enforceable in civil court, separate from eviction jurisdiction — a distinction tracked under rent payment rules.
Jurisdictional supremacy conflicts: When state protections exceeded federal protections, the more protective state law generally governed under traditional preemption analysis. When state law was less protective than the federal order, the federal floor applied. Local ordinances could exceed state floors where state law permitted local action.
References
- CDC Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions (85 Fed. Reg. 55292, September 2020)
- U.S. Supreme Court — Alabama Association of Realtors v. HHS, 594 U.S. (2021)
- California Legislative Information — AB 3088 (2020)
- National Low Income Housing Coalition — Eviction Moratorium Tracker
- U.S. Department of the Treasury — Emergency Rental Assistance Program
- HUD Office of Policy Development and Research — Eviction Resources
- 42 U.S.C. § 264 — Regulations to Control Communicable Diseases (via Cornell LII)