Federal appeals court rejects relators bid to block eviction moratorium

A federal appeals court on Friday allowed the pause on evictions imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to remain in place, setting up a likely battle before the nation’s highest court.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected a bid by Alabama and Georgia realtors to block the eviction moratorium reinstated earlier this month.

The realtors are likely to appeal to the Supreme Court, which voted 5-4 in June to allow the moratorium to continue through the end of July. But Justice Brett Kavanaugh—who joined the majority—warned the administration not to act further without explicit congressional approval.

The Biden administration allowed an earlier moratorium to lapse on July 31, saying it had no legal authority to allow it to continue. But the CDC issued a new moratorium days later amid mounting pressure from lawmakers and others to help vulnerable renters stay in their homes amid the surge of the coronavirus’ Delta variant.

As of Aug. 2, roughly 3.5 million people in the United States said they faced eviction in the next two months, according to the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey.