Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Eviction Ban Quickly Challenged In Court By Landlords, Real Estate Groups
The Washington Post: Real Estate, Landlord Groups File Legal Salvo To Stop Biden Administration’s New Eviction Moratorium
Only one day after the Biden administration issued a new policy protecting renters from eviction, a series of real estate and landlord groups is trying to invalidate it — setting up another legal showdown over a moratorium that Democrats say is essential to keeping Americans in their homes. The petition arrived Wednesday from groups including the Alabama Association of Realtors and its counterpart in Georgia, arguing the latest eviction order issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention exceeds the agency’s authority. The group asked a federal judge in D.C. to halt the new protections, citing the district court’s prior ruling that found the government’s first eviction ban to be unlawful. (Romm, 8/4)
Politico: Landlords Sue To Stop Biden's 'Nakedly Political' Eviction Ban
Trade groups representing property owners late Wednesday sued to block a new federal eviction moratorium that President Joe Biden himself warned this week was on shaky legal ground. The Alabama and Georgia chapters of the National Association of Realtors filed a motion in federal court to vacate the ban that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ordered Tuesday. The same groups led a legal challenge against the prior federal eviction moratorium that expired Saturday — a lawsuit that prompted the Supreme Court to cast doubt on the CDC's authority. (O'Donnell, 8/4)
USA Today: Real Estate Groups Sue To Block Biden's New Eviction Moratorium
A group of real estate entities asked a federal court late Wednesday to block enforcement of the Biden administration's new eviction moratorium, reopening a battle that appeared destined to put the legal challenge back before the Supreme Court. Arguing that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "caved to the political pressure" by creating what the administration called a "targeted," 60-day freeze on evictions in counties with a high spread of COVID-19, the groups asked the district court in Washington, D.C., to immediately block the new moratorium. (Fritze, 8/4)
The Wall Street Journal: Legal Battle Looms Over New Eviction Moratorium
The Biden administration’s latest eviction moratorium is set to face an immediate and possibly fast-moving legal challenge that could present high hurdles for the White House. A group of property managers and realtors lodged objections in a Washington federal court to the new moratorium late Wednesday. The same plaintiffs, supported by the National Association of Realtors, challenged the previous moratorium, alleging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lacked legal authority to issue it. (Kendall, 8/4)
In related news —
The Hill: Rental Aid Emerges As New Housing Fight After Eviction Ban
Lawmakers and housing advocates are struggling to figure out how to get billions of dollars in rental assistance to tenants who desperately need the help, even with the action taken Tuesday by the Biden administration to extend an eviction moratorium for most of the country. Congress this year appropriated $46 billion for tenants and landlords in need, but only about $3 billion has reached the intended recipients. (Johnson, 8/4)
