National Housing Law Project Urges Congress To Protect Tenants From Last-Minute Evictions

New House Legislation Would Put Tenants in Danger and End Requirement for Landlords to Give 30-Days Notice Before Evictions

WASHINGTON D.C.— The National Housing Law Project last week sent a letter to U.S. House Financial Services Committee leadership urging them to oppose the Respect State Housing Laws Act, which would put an end to the lifesaving CARES Act requirement that landlords provide tenants in federal housing 30 days notice before filing an eviction.

“The CARES Act 30-day notice requirement is a critical tool for preventing the harms that evictions inflict upon tenants, their families, and their communities. Pre-filing eviction notice periods give tenants the time to obtain assistance to pay their rent. They also reduce the rates at which housing providers serially file evictions as a means of collecting unpaid rent,” the National Housing Law Project wrote in the letter.

The new legislation is currently in markup. If passed, tenants in states like Maryland and West Virginia, where landlords are not required to give any notice in nonpayment of rent cases, would be particularly vulnerable to immediate and preventable evictions. More than a dozen state courts have upheld the CARES Act 30-day notice requirement across the country.

The full text of the letter may be found here.

Read the press release here.