The Supreme Court of the U.S. (SCOTUS) issued a temporary stay on a lower court ruling seeking to overturn the federal eviction moratorium issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The eviction moratorium will remain in place through July 31, 2021.
Writing for the majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the 5-4 decision in the Alabama Association of Realtors v. Department of Health and Human Services case that while he agreed with the plaintiffs that the CDC “exceeded its existing statutory authority by issuing a nationwide eviction moratorium,” he also recognizes that the eviction moratorium will end ”in only a few weeks,” and keeping it in place until then “will allow for additional and more orderly distribution of the congressionally appropriated rental assistance funds.” However, Kavanaugh cautioned, he believes that “clear and specific congressional authorization (via new legislation) would be necessary for the CDC to extend the moratorium past July 31.”
