Gov. Cooper extends eviction moratorium in NC amid surging COVID cases statewide
Renters across North Carolina are safe from eviction for nonpayment of rent for at least one more month.
Gov. Roy Cooper has extended an October executive order that instituted an eviction moratorium statewide to Jan. 31. The original order was scheduled to end Thursday, Dec. 31.
Cooper announced last week that he intended to extend the moratorium to align with the recent federal extension. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s eviction moratorium that was set in September was set to expire Thursday as well. But a recent bill from Congress extended the nationwide order to Jan. 31. President Donald Trump signed that bill over the weekend.
Cooper’s executive order, announced Wednesday, makes it official in North Carolina.
“Too many families are living on the edge, trying to do the right thing, but left with impossible choices. This order will help them stay in their homes which is essential to slowing the spread of the virus,” Cooper said in a press release announcing the extension.
In Wake County, the House Wake! COVID-19 Eviction Prevention Program was also extended to Jan. 31, according to a press release from the county.
That program provides funding for up to six months of owed rent for tenants and landlords from March to December of this year.
For the program to provide funding to accepted tenants, the landlord must agree to forgive the rest of the owed rent and forgive 25% of future rent from January to March of 2021.
Does the moratorium stop COVID-19 spread?
Tenants are safe from eviction due to nonpayment if they provide a declaration to their landlord that the pandemic has made it so they can’t pay rent, according to Cooper’s order. Eviction for reasons other than nonpayment of rent are still allowed to continue.
On Dec. 11, though, state Chief Justice Cheri Beasley suspended all in-person, non-essential cases from taking place in state courthouses for 30 days because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, eviction hearings also haven’t been scheduled.
Cooper’s extension comes as COVID-19 cases have surged in North Carolina over the past month.
On Wednesday, the state reported over 8,500 new cases and 155 deaths. December has been the deadliest month of the pandemic in North Carolina.
Before Cooper instituted an eviction moratorium, some cases and deaths could be attributed to eviction, according to a study earlier this month from public health experts at academic institutions across the country.
From June 20 to Sept. 3, when no moratorium was in place, evictions in the state resulted in 15,690 coronavirus cases and 304 deaths, The N&O reported.
In that time, landlords filed evictions against 18,000 tenants in North Carolina, The N&O reported in September.
Up to 410,000 households in the state are at risk of eviction and unable to pay rent, according to a report from WRAL last month.
By January, there could be 240,000 eviction filings and a collective sum of unpaid rent of over $800 million across the state, WRAL reported.
Rental aid in COVID relief package from Congress
A part of the COVID stimulus from Congress is $25 billion in rental assistance. North Carolina is projected to receive $700 million of that.
Assistance can last for up to year. It can last longer depending on the need of the household receiving the funds.
Cooper said the relief will be distributed through the state’s HOPE program, which ran out of money in November due to depleted funds.
Currently, the program has assisted over 21,000 renters in North Carolina, according to the state.
Cooper said he plans to work with the North Carolina General Assembly to disburse the funds as quickly as possible.
This story was originally published December 30, 2020 at 4:13 PM with the headline "Gov. Cooper extends eviction moratorium in NC amid surging COVID cases statewide."