Gov. Roy Cooper recently extended North Carolina’s eviction moratorium through June 30, allowing renters who are unable to pay rent to stay in their homes while the state battles the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As North Carolina continues a fast and fair vaccine distribution operation, it is critical to slow the spread of the virus. With many people struggling financially due to this pandemic, the State’s eviction moratorium halts evictions for nonpayment of rent and sets forth certain procedures for landlords and their tenants who may qualify for protection from eviction,” Gov. Cooper’s office said in March.
The North Carolina eviction moratorium – established in Executive Order 171 – follows the protections established by the nationwide CDC eviction moratorium. First established in September 2020, the order prohibits landlords nationwide from evicting certain tenants for nonpayment of rent.
Rent, late fees, penalties, or interest are still due at the expiration of the eviction moratorium.
So what does the eviction moratorium mean for tenants and landlords?
For tenants
Who qualifies?
Tenants who qualify under the nationwide protections include individuals who:
- Are unable to pay their full rent due to a substantial loss in income;
- Have attempted to obtain government assistance for housing;
- Are making their best efforts to make partial payments of rent;
- Would become homeless or forced to move into a shared living space if evicted; and,
- Meet certain financial requirements.
The eviction moratorium applies to all “standard rental housing,” but does not cover individuals renting hotels, motels, or are in temporary guest homes.
Financial qualifications
Only individuals making less than $99,000 per year, joint filers earning less than $198,000 per year, those who have received a stimulus check or those who were not required to report any income to the IRS in 2019 qualify for protections under the current eviction moratorium.
Only one of these financial requirements must be met to qualify.
HOPE program participants
The HOPE program, funded by emergency COVID-19 relief funds, provides rent and utility assistance to prevent evictions. By the end of March, the program had administered more than $140 million to more than 36,000 applicants.
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Applicants eligible to receive assistance from the North Carolina Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions (HOPE) program are protected under the eviction moratorium.
As of late March, the program is not accepting new applicants, but prior applications continue to be processed.
How do I get protection?
The eviction moratorium protects tenants who meet the qualifications and are unable to pay their full rent. To be protected, tenants must give his or her landlord a signed declaration form attesting that they qualify.
That form can be found here.
If an eviction action is filed, the landlord must provide the tenant with a blank copy of this form.
If you already have a court date for an eviction hearing, state officials recommend providing your landlord with a copy of the CDC form if you qualify and bring a copy of that form with you to court.
For landlords
Grounds for eviction
Under current orders, landlords may not evict tenants for nonpayment if they qualify for protection. Landlords may, however, evict tenants for other reasons. If a tenant submits a CDC declaration form during eviction proceedings, state officials recommend landlords notify the court that the eviction action is not in response to nonpayment.
State officials caution though that landlords should not “cite other reasons for an attempted residential eviction when the actual underlying reason for eviction is for nonpayment.”
Responsibilities
Under the eviction moratorium, landlords are required to provide tenants with a blank CDC eviction declaration form if any eviction is filed on or after the start of the moratorium. A single form from at least one tenant responsible for paying the rent qualifies them for eviction protection. Landlords must notify the court and submit the paperwork within five days of receiving the completed form.
Other information
Landlords may challenge a tenant’s CDC form if they believe the information is false by filing a response to the court. In such circumstances, the landlord must submit in writing why he or she believes the eviction action should proceed. The court will then hold a hearing to determine if the action will move forward.
At the expiration of the moratorium, tenants will still be responsible for paying any unpaid rent, late fees or penalties.
Elizabeth Pattman is the trending topics reporter for the Times-News in Burlington, covering business, COVID-19 and all things trending. Contact Elizabeth (she/her) at epattman@gannett.com. I'm also available on social media @EPattmanTN on Twitter or @burlingtontimesnews on Instagram.
