Overview
Since the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, the United States has faced a persistent threat of mass evictions that only a series of eviction restrictions and relief programs by federal, state, and local governments have held at bay.  By August 2021, most of these programs had lapsed and only a federal public health order from the CDC and the promise of largely undistributed rent relief funds held down the rush of mass evictions in most jurisdictions.  On August 26, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling effectively ended the CDC eviction halt, plunging efforts to forestall widespread evictions into even deeper chaos at a time when over 8 million tenants remain delinquent in rent and 3.5 million anticipate facing eviction within two months.  This One-Hour Briefing updates advocates on key arguments and legal strategies advocates can use to defend tenants in the wake of the CDC halt order, as well as the federal Emergency Rental Assistance Programs and important measures state and local governments are taking to prevent evictions and stabilize communities.

Topics to be addressed by Eric Dunn and Mariel Block of the National Housing Law Project include:

• Update on pandemic threat to renters and communities from mass evictions (5 minutes)
• Landscape of eviction litigation in the wake of the CDC eviction halt order rulings (10 minutes)
• Overview of ERAP programs (what assistance is available, who qualifies and how to access) (10 minutes)
• Recent updates and changes to federal guidance around ERAP (10 minutes)
• Key legal arguments and defenses arising from flotsam and jetsam of federal eviction restrictions (10 minutes)
• Eviction diversion and other local eviction-reduction policies (5 minutes)
• Q&A (10 minutes)