Why Evictions Are Still Happening in Florida Despite CDC Moratorium
By Berbeth Foster
Mr. Miller, a husband and father caring for six of his children — from 18 to a one-year old — lost his job as a computer engineer in Broward County in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. He struggled to make his rent payments on time. Then, half of the family caught COVID-19.
Shortly after their diagnosis and while still struggling with debilitating symptoms of COVID-19 in quarantine, the family heard a knock on their door. A Broward County sheriff was there to put them out. They were being evicted.
How does a COVID positive family get to the point where they are being evicted in Florida when the Center for Disease Control enacted a federal eviction moratorium to prevent this very scenario from happening?
The short answer is — a loophole. There are many documented examples of gaps in the moratorium that have allowed for evictions to move forward nationwide. The loophole that was specific to the Miller family and thousands of others in Florida is that they were month-to-month tenants.
Based on the explicit language of the CDC’s order it’s clear that the government’s intent during this global pandemic is to make certain that public safety takes precedence over nonpayment of rent. One of the most important ways to keep people safe is to keep them housed because “homelessness increases the likelihood of individuals moving into congregate settings, such as homeless shelters, which then puts individuals at higher risk” of COVID–19 infection.
Let me explain the month-to-month lease loophole in Florida that’s allowing thousands of evictions to take place during this health crisis.
The CDC moratorium prevents evictions in cases where failure to pay rent is the reason the landlord says they are evicting renters. However, courts have poked holes in this protection from evictions, especially in cases where a landlord simply says they are not renewing the lease.
Someone without a written lease agreement in Florida is considered a month-to-month tenant. As a result, the law says you have no expectation of tenancy beyond a 30-day time frame. A person or family in this situation is considered to have an “expired lease” at the end of each month that is then renewed at the beginning of the following month. Unlike many other states with Just Cause laws, Florida does not require a landlord to state a specific reason for ending a tenancy once your lease expires.
Even in recent eviction cases where landlords outright state in the lawsuit that tenants are behind on their rent and that is why the landlord is not renewing the lease, Florida judges are allowing the eviction to move forward. Rather than see this subversion of rights for what it is, lease non renewal is often considered a distinct legal issue, thereby allowing thousands of tenants in Florida to be evicted despite the moratorium.
In Miami-Dade County, Mayor Danielle Levine-Cava enacted a local moratorium that is acting as a final safety net to stop families from being put out on the streets even if an eviction goes through this loophole. The Miami-Dade County Police Department which serves final residential evictions has been prohibited from doing so by Levine-Cava. However ,as evidenced in Mr. Miller’s case, just one county north from Miami-Dade and all across the state, thousands are still being put out.
In the smallest of silver linings, Mr. Miller was successful in petitioning the court for additional time to move out. His community members stepped in to help provide some assistance and he was able to get his family of eight into a small two-bedroom apartment before the sheriff returned to evict them once they tested negative for COVID-19. Mr. Miller also launched a GoFundMe to help his family while he searches for a job.
Courts have a role to play in protecting month-to-month tenants and the community from the spread of COVID-19 in the spirit of the federal eviction moratorium. Procedures can and should be enacted by courts to ensure landlords are not using non renewal as a roundabout way to carry out evictions that would otherwise be protected by the moratorium. For instance, courts can require landlords to file a certification under penalty of perjury when filing non renewal eviction cases that the non renewal is not a result of the tenant’s failure to pay rent. Courts may also conduct hearings to make this determination themselves and if the court finds that a case is nonpayment related, the case should be assessed for CDC moratorium protection.
The federal government and our local leaders must act too. Organizers across the country have called on the Biden administration to close these loopholes. Sheriffs should also exercise their discretion to hold off on evictions until the state of emergency is over.
Month-to-month tenants who have lost their jobs or are struggling to pay rent during this unprecedented public health crisis should be afforded the dignity of a home that protects them from contracting a deadly virus and the opportunity to get back on their feet. Unfortunately, the courts are allowing landlords to game the system and are failing the very people that they should be protecting.
Berbeth Foster is a senior staff attorney at Community Justice Project. She represented Mr. Miller in Broward County court to get more time to move out while he and his family were combatting COVID-19.
Community Justice Project supports grassroots organizing for power, racial justice and human rights with innovative lawyering, research and creative strategy tools. Based in Miami, FL, Community Justice Project is deeply and unapologetically committed to Black and brown communities throughout Florida.
