St. Louis City officials extended the suspension on evictions Friday through the end of the year, as new COVID-19 cases continued to rise in the region.
The suspension was put in place on March 20th and has been periodically extended since. Thom Gross, spokesman for the Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit of Missouri, said there are various differences and overlaps between the city’s suspension order and the CDC’s federal moratorium on evictions. But, both have the welfare and safety of residents in mind.
“The court can’t take sides in this, they have to apply the law as the law reads,” he said. “The fact that there has been extensions since March 20up until today would indicate that we have a concern about evictions and the health consequences that you read in the order. That’s the basis for these orders.”
The administrative order protects tenants from evictions except in the following cases: engaging in criminal activity on the property; threatening the health and safety of other residents; damaging or posing an immediate and significant risk of damage to property; violating building codes, health ordinances or similar regulations; and violating any other contractual obligations. It also excludes evictions those who have received judgments for drug-related activity and possession of commercial properties.
Gross added there is a possibility the suspension could be extended into 2021.
“You don’t want to put people out on the street and make them in homeless. … But it can’t go on forever, we’ve been taking it month by month and this one takes it through the end of the year but landlords have to pay their bills, too.”
If landlords lose their properties it doesn’t serve them and it doesn’t serve low-income people, he noted.
The order’s extensions may come as a little comfort, as up to 40 million U.S. renters may face eviction at the end of the year when the moratorium is lifted, according to studies from the Aspen Institute and the COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project. Eighty percent of those potentially facing eviction nationwide are Black or Hispanic.
As for the influx of eviction cases the court is bound to preside over once the suspension is lifted, Gross said the court has taken some proactive measures to connect tenants with resources and refer landlords and tenants to mediation.
“It’s our role to enforce the law as it reads, it may be extended beyond Jan. 1 but at some point landlords have got to be paid, and it can’t go on forever.”
Missouri lawmakers returned this week for a special session to appropriate additional CARES Act money after initially approving $9.6 million. They have up to $28 million in CARES Act funding to spend on homeless prevention, according to Mary Compton, spokeswoman for State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick.
As the winter months approach, local organizations worry families will be left out in the cold.
“Typically, our winter season starts November 1, sometimes in October, and then we go until maybe March, then we stop. But because of COVID, we have been going nonstop since November 1 [last year],” City Hope St. Louis CEO, Bishop Michael Robinson, told The St. Louis American in September.
John Lunardini, senior vice president of Catholic Charities, echoed this sentiment when he recently cited that phone calls to the organization from families on the verge of losing their homes have jumped 300 percent.
As of Thursday, there had been 9,078 COVID-19 cases diagnosed since the beginning of the year and 216 people have died due to symptoms of the virus.