NAA Joins Lawsuit Challenging CDC National Eviction Moratorium

Friday, the National Apartment Association (NAA) joined the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) in a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) unlawful order halting residential evictions through December 31, 2020. The CDC’s overreaching eviction moratorium directly harms the apartment industry, including NAA members’ businesses, and jeopardizes the long-term viability of rental housing while rippling into the broader economy.

The suit, Richard Lee Brown, et al. v. Secretary Alex Azar, et al., argues that rental housing providers have been irreparably damaged by the CDC order and its unwarranted overreach. Federal agencies do not have powers to waive state laws and the CDC has encroached on private property rights with no legal authority. Further, rental housing providers do not have the ability to absorb delinquent rent and pay their mortgages and bills required to keep communities operational and Americans in their apartment homes.

In addition to this suit, NAA is committed to challenging the CDC’s overreaching order with additional legal challenges throughout the country. The rental housing industry should not be held responsible for our nation’s housing crisis, which has been exacerbated during this pandemic, and government agencies should not trade one crisis for another.