In one of his first actions after his inauguration, President Joe Biden signed an executive order directing the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to extend its federal eviction moratorium through March 31.
The protections had been set to expire January 31.
While the policy has been credited with preventing forced removal due to non-payment for some renters, housing advocates had hoped Biden would add mechanisms to strengthen and enforce the moratorium.
Diane Yentel with the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), which lobbied the Biden administration, said the changes are needed to close loopholes that allow some evictions to continue.
“The existing moratorium is flawed and some landlords exploit loopholes to evict tenants despite the protections. No federal agency is enforcing the order’s penalties for unlawful evictions,” Yentel said in a statement.
Yentel said she believes the Biden administration understands the need for help and expects the CDC to “begin a process for input on needed improvements to the order.”
This article was written by Courtney Holmes for KNXV.
