In March 2020, the
United States Congress passed the
CARES Act, which included a moratorium on the evictions of tenants in rental properties that receive federal funding or have federal government-backed mortgages until July 2020. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced an additional eviction moratorium on September 1, 2020, expected to last until December 31 of that year. The order cited Section 361 of the
Public Health Service Act, which gives the agency authority to: A challenge to the moratorium was filed in November by the Alabama Association of Realtors. In the
District Court for D.C., Judge
Dabney L. Friedrich ruled that the Public Health Service act did not give the CDC authority to enact moratoria on evictions. Friedrich cited the rule of
eiusdem generis, writing that evictions were too dissimilar from the other items listed in Section 361 to be covered under the phrase "and other measures." On appeal, the
Supreme Court voted 5–4, to maintain the moratorium. The
Biden administration issued a new eviction moratorium on August 3, 2021, intended to last until October 3. It was applicable to counties with substantial or high transmission rates of COVID-19. On August 26, the Supreme Court struck down the moratorium. == State ==