Renzo Downey
Gov. Ron DeSantis has extended the suspension on evictions and foreclosures to June 2.
The original executive order banning those suspensions during the COVID-19 pandemic was set to expire Sunday.
DeSantis made the announcement, with no further details, in response to a reporter’s question in Doral Thursday. The update was more or less in line with the pending order he teased the day before.
“I think we’re going to do it through the end of the month,” the Governor told reporters in Tallahassee. “We’ll have an announcement on that I think very soon.”
That order suspends all statutes “providing for a mortgage foreclosure cause of action.” For evictions, the order only specifies tenants may not be removed for nonpayment, indicating evictions for other reasons will still be in bounds.
“I’m not sure you’re going to rent out a lot of new places anyways, but you never know how people are going to act,” DeSantis said when he announced the order.
The Supreme Court had previously ordered a pause on evictions and foreclosures through April 17.
Democrats had urged for the initial order and again an extension. In Congress, a similar move on a national level had bipartisan support, including from former Gov. and now U.S. Sen. Rick Scott.
After the Governor’s announcement, Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith pinned the responsibility on DeSantis.
“.@GovRonDeSantis has NO CHOICE but to extend the eviction moratorium beyond 5/17. Why? Because 700K+ Floridians haven’t gotten a single penny in unemployment benefits & can’t pay rent as a direct result of his @FLDEO’s failures. It’s his moral obligation,” the Orlando Democrat tweeted.
The Department of Economic Opportunity has paid a total of $1.8 billion to 694,000 claimants during the pandemic crisis. Of the 1.9 million submitted claims, 1.1 million have been processed.
Most monthly obligations have leniency. Major Florida utility companies and telecommunications providers have pledged not to cut off service because of nonpayment during the pandemic.
But landlords are not a monolith, and some have a limited supply of empathy. That led politicians on both sides of the aisle to call for a moratorium on evictions.
The state started Phase One of the economic reopening plan last week, but the Governor on Wednesday called that move more of a “Step Point Five” that still limits several businesses. A complete economic recovery could last the year, or at least until the state reaches the final reopening step.
15 comments
Frankie M.
May 13, 2020 at 7:25 pm
Why not thru November?
Carmen Catanzaro
May 23, 2020 at 12:57 am
Just horrible
Anonymous
May 14, 2020 at 2:10 am
Thank you Renzo. Because of your investigative work I am able to sleep a little easier tonight
Jim Jesteadt
May 14, 2020 at 8:51 am
My tenant is working full time and has not paid a penny. There needs to be a middle ground, its a little one sided right now.
Salanda
May 14, 2020 at 5:39 pm
I agree with you 100% that is my current situation right now. My property is a rental home that does NOT have a federally funded mortgage. In fact it does not have a mortgage per say, but I have a Home equity line of credit and this person has not paid me rent since February. I started the eviction in March and then the moratorium happened so I have not received ANY rent since February, but I am still responsible for Insurance and property taxes. Plus up keep of the property. This is absolutely one sided a whole lot and I am certainly out of empathy. Especially when this person works everyday and is living absolutely free off me.
Lance Randall
May 14, 2020 at 9:53 am
As stated above, there is a massive abuse going on and we have a Judicial System already in place to sort the honest people out. We do not need the Governor’s one sided interference that has created an uneven playing field. There are very few landlords who would file eviction if a tenant was able to show they have been laid off and is attempting to apply for unemployment and even if that was abused, the number would be far less then the amount of working tenants taking advantage of this suspension. Moreover, the clerk’s office are not entering defaults and the judges are not signing final judgments for eviction and the sheriffs are not executing writ of possessions thus proving once again that our judicial system is more than capable of handling this matter on their own. Maybe I’m naive, however I’d like to think any tenant who filed a response to an eviction action providing supporting documents proving they aren’t working and have applied for unemployment or other assistance would get a sympathetic ruling from the judge. What needs to be remembered is that not all landlords have government insured loans and those payments are still due along with the property taxes, insurance and maintenance costs all of which aren’t being delayed or forgiven and yet a tenant is able to rack up several months of unpaid rent and then move out leaving the landlord with unrecoverable receivables. Tenants aren’t dependants of the landlords. Instead of extending the suspension, the Governor should order immediate housing assistance payments such as Section 8. That would instantly resolve this problem as well as reduce the economical impact to the housing industry that most certainly is upon the horizon.
C.langston
May 14, 2020 at 4:25 pm
They would never allow sect 8 payment for that many people. It too much work to weed out those people throughout each individual City they would have to come up with a way to figure out when those people lost their jobs due to Kobe it and when they should have actually been paying rent and did they receive any of the extra funding from any of the other funding sources before the day just look at the fact that they did not receive any unemployment benefits now I am one of those ones that has filed unemployment on March 15th 2020 and it is now May 14th and I still have not received the payment yet I’ve spoken to them twice and no payment as of yet I haven’t even started back reclaiming however I do have a sign that has returned back to work and can’t get his unemployment. So go figure they’re just they don’t care
Anonymous
May 15, 2020 at 7:09 pm
You are absolutely right. I would like to know if Real Estate Taxes due date is going to be pushed for later same with Home Insurance companies policies fees, and Community Association fees are going to do the same for the landlords. Landlords also have properties’ responsibilities.
Carmen Catanzaro
May 14, 2020 at 11:02 pm
Well that’s nice since I still haven’t received any unemployment since March
Noel
May 16, 2020 at 11:49 am
I don’t know what to say, And I don’t even know how to feel,
My tenant is a nightmare, hasn’t paid rent since March, and he has broken all the rules, I have called the police in the las 2 months more times then ever in my life, loud music AM 2.00 has a mariguana card, he’s not supposed to smoke inside the unit but he does, and not only that every night brings about 4 to 8 people to do so. He doesn’t know respect at all. And deputies say that the only thing I can do is evict him, he doesn’t respect anything I ask him to do, he lies in my face all the time, what a mistake a made, he live in my Effecency the whole smell of mariguana comes into my house, my wife is pregnant, I have a 7 and 14 years old kids, and I can’t do anything, I need help, I am desperate. I won’t rent that unit again, I need him out of my place. I live in Collier county. What can I do.? If the D’santis extend this election thing.
Salanda
May 16, 2020 at 4:10 pm
You can file an eviction against the tenant for breaking the terms of the lease. Just not for non-payment of rent. There are steps in the process but if he is doing the things you stated you can evict him
Balmy Jones
May 16, 2020 at 4:04 pm
Dear Gov DeSantis… how about a property tax break for landlords?
You are giving the tenants a break – even though they get stimulus checks? What’s with the eviction freeze? Who —- is going to pay the mortgage, insurance, property tax, etc? Let the judge decide already. You have deadbeat tenants taking advantage of your generosity.
The end result of your strategy – you put landlords out of business – property will be foreclosed, sold off, resulting in no more rentals – which in turn will leave the tenant homeless. Cause and Effect.
Formerly, your faithful voter,
Balmy
candice summey
May 18, 2020 at 10:32 pm
My elderly sister in law whos only source of income is her rental properties. She had 5 tenants who have not paid in a year. They keep giving her sob stories and she has let them almost ruin her. So she asked for my help. I filed evictions on them then they halted evictions. Everything I read says you cant evict them for non payment due to covid. but these people were not paying months before anyone even heard of covid nor were they working and now are just being aided and abetted by the government to further live rent free. They owe from $8000 to $13000 each. I dont understand why they cant be evicted as there issue is they are dead beats and have nothing to do with covid. Yet they are getting rewarded and my sister in law is facing a ton of money in taxes etc. she is not a rich woman. she barely has anything to live on. my husband and i are helping her but we dont have unlimited funds. Once again the crooks and criminals are being rewarded. No reason these people cant be evicted. covid is not to blame for them. she is going to lose everything she has at 77 thank to our government.
Balmy Jones
May 23, 2020 at 5:40 pm
Hey Guv, can you reimburse me for the lost rent? Thx, Landlord
(If someone goes into the grocery store… are you giving them free food? Fills up the gas tank – free gas? Why not? Only free rent on the backs of schlep landlords?
No disrespect Guv, but you are falling down, we already have judges to parse this.)
And BTW… next time… no shut-down.
Thx,
Schlep
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