2 State Realtor Groups Sue Over ‘Unconstitutional’ Eviction Ban

By Kerry Smith

Alabama and Georgia Realtors are suing the Trump Administration, saying the CDC’s eviction ban unilaterally shifted economic burdens from renters to landlords.

WASHINGTON – Two state Realtor associations – the Alabama Association of Realtors and the Georgia Association of Realtors – filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the Trump Administration’s federal foreclosure and eviction ban is unconstitutional.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued the ban, which runs through Dec. 31, 2020. It’s unclear whether CDC officials are considering an extension.

The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) has opposed the ban because the federal government appeared to protect tenants without offering any kind of help to property owners facing losses. Many landlords – notably small investors with a handful of properties – have mortgages on those homes. Without a steady income from rental payments, some could face foreclosure themselves. NAR’s Legal Action Committee decided in September to financially back Georgia and Alabama’s efforts. The group provided $100,000 for the effort, according to Inman News.

According to the complaint, Alabama and Georgia say that the CDC’s goal to stem pandemic spread is laudable, but “in attempting to do so without statutory authorization or following the rulemaking process required by the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), the CDC has unilaterally shifted billions of dollars in economic burdens from one group of Americans, renters, to another, landlords. In many cases, these landlords, including Plaintiffs here, are small business owners who have themselves suffered economic losses as a result of the pandemic.”

The lawsuit says landlords will lose $55 to $75 billion in unpaid rents and “billions more if the Eviction Moratorium is extended into 2021.”

The groups’ lawsuit challenges the CDC eviction ban for several reasons, including:

1. It’s an “improper exercise of executive authority that does not comply with federal law.”

2. It’s procedurally defective because it didn’t follow notice-and-comment requirements or consider the impact on small businesses.

3. It exceeds the CDC’s statutory authority.

4. It’s “arbitrary and capricious” because the CDC didn’t weigh the ban’s cost against the benefits, and “failed to reasonably explain its definitions for the two key terms in the Eviction Moratorium – ‘covered person’ and ‘eviction.’”

5. It raises “serious constitutional questions.”

In an emailed statement, Dorrie Love, GAR’s 2021 president, told Inman News it was important to take steps, such as providing rental assistance, to ensure that the current public health and economic crisis does not also turn into a nationwide housing crisis.

“More than half a million Realtors in America own at least one rental property, including thousands of Georgia Realtors,” said Dorrie Love, Georgia Association of Realtors (GAR) 2021 president, in an email sent to Inman News. “While GAR applauds every effort made to keep families in their homes, we believe any broad eviction prohibitions must come alongside rental assistance funding for Georgia’s housing providers, whose financial obligations and own livelihoods also remain at stake in light of the pandemic … Rental assistance will help families across our state avoid eviction while also ensuring property owners can continue to provide housing to Georgians in the months and years to come.

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© 2020 Florida Realtors®

Reprinted with permission. Click Here to see the original article.