The United States Supreme Court on Thursday evening lifted the moratorium on tenant evictions scheduled until October, ending protections afforded to millions of people in financial difficulty in the midst of the pandemic.
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The highest American court sided with homeowners who claimed to be victims of unwarranted measures and argued that any further renewal of a moratorium must be decided by Congress and not by health officials – who were until now at the origin of these measures.
A first moratorium on tenant evictions was decided in 2020, when the United States was hit hard by the pandemic, and a dizzying unemployment rate.
When the moratorium expired at the end of July, President Biden’s administration urged US parliamentarians to urgently legislate to extend it. What elected officials had failed to do before Congress ceased its work for the summer break.
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Under pressure from the left wing of her party, – an elected member of the House, Cori Bush had camped for several days in front of the seat of Congress – the health authorities of the Biden administration had ended up decreeing by themselves a new moratorium. They had relied on the risks to public health to justify their decision.
«If a federally imposed deportation moratorium is to continue, Congress must specifically authorize it“, Swept the Supreme Court, with a conservative majority, in an argument of fifteen pages.
The White House immediately announced its “disappointment».
«As a result of this decision, families will face painful evictions, and communities across the country will face an increased risk of exposure to Covid-19“, Lamented the spokesperson for the US president, Jen Psaki.
«President Biden once again calls on all entities that can – from cities and states to local courts, landlords and ministerial agencies – to act urgently to prevent evictionsShe added.
The US executive expected this moratorium to be challenged in court but hoped to allow additional time to pay tenants funds allocated to help them pay their rents, but whose payments had been significantly slowed – especially in because of bureaucracy.
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