St. Louis Eviction Update
The St. Louis eviction landscape has shifted in the past few days. While the County announced that it will permit evictions to resume on April 5, 2021, the CDC just announced that it is extending it eviction ban to June 30, 2021. As such, a landlord of property located in St. Louis County will still be prohibited from evicting a tenant that provides to the landlord the declaration described in the CDC’s order. There is some good news, though. St. Louis County now has federal funds to help tenants pay for at least some rent.
St. Louis Eviction Order
On March 23, 2021, St. Louis County announced that it will resume evictions of residential tenants on April 5, 2021. (Keep in mind that the County can again stop evictions if the COVID metrics warrant.) As an alternative to eviction, St. Louis County has received approximately $30 million in rental assistance, which is being administered locally by the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) and the State Assistance of Housing Relief Program (SAHRP). Information about the programs can be found here and here. Additional information about ERAP can be found at this Treasury Department site and FAQs about emergency rental programs can be found here. Tenants and landlords can apply for these funds. However, a landlord may not file a St. Louis eviction lawsuit for the non-payment of rent that includes the months for which a landlord is seeking assistance from these programs. All landlords filing a St. Louis eviction lawsuit must include with the petition an affidavit signed by the landlord stating that the landlord is not seeking to evict the tenant for the non-payment of rent for the months for which the landlord is seeking assistance from these programs.
St. Louis City Evictions on Hold
The current St. Louis City order banning evictions is effective through April 5, 2021, but St. Louis City has not yet announced whether it will permit evictions to resume after that date.
CDC Extends Eviction Ban to June 30
On March 28, 2021, the Director of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) signed an order extending the CDC’s eviction ban through June 30, 2021. The applies only to tenants of residential property and only if the tenant provides a written declaration that the tenant cannot pay rent and cannot find alternate housing. (See the order for the exact representations a tenant must make in the declaration in order to qualify for protection under the ban.) Previous declarations remain in effect. The ban does not prohibit evictions for criminal conduct, causing damage to the property, violating any ordinance relating to health or safety, or violating any lease provision unrelated to rent. The information provided here is general and the penalties for violating the order are stiff – up to $500,00.00 fine and one year in jail. So, you should not without legal counsel take any action to evict a residential tenant who has provided a written declaration. Finally, federal courts in Texas, Ohio, and Tennessee have ruled that the current CDC eviction ban order, which is set to expire on March 31, 2021, violates the United States Constitution. While those decisions might be persuasive to a Missouri court, those decisions are effective only in those states. Missouri landlords wanting to challenge this new CDC eviction ban will have to file a lawsuit in a federal district court in Missouri for a determination about the constitutionality of the CDC ban in St. Louis.
This article is provided for general informational purposes only and should not be solely relied upon determining whether, and the extent to which, the CARES Act might apply to you.
Sewell Law provides legal services in the areas of litigation, real estate, and business, including landlord/tenant matters. Please contact Michael Sewell at (314) 942-3232 or at michael@sewelllaw.net to discuss this or any other legal matter.
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