ORLANDO, Fla. — The Biden Administration confirmed Thursday it would allow the CDC’s eviction moratorium to expire as scheduled July 31 – but also urged Congress to enact legislation to extend it “without delay.”

In a statement, the White House said President Biden would have “strongly supported” an extension, given the recent spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus, but that “unfortunately, the Supreme Court has made clear that this option is no longer available.”

Last month the Court voted 5-4 to keep the eviction ban in place, but Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that extending it past July 31 would require “clear and specific congressional authorization.”

It’s unclear whether Congress will authorize another extension. On Thursday night the National Low Income Housing Coalition sent out an email blast urging people to reach out to their representatives, and saying the House of Representatives could vote as soon as that night to extend the ban.

Across the nation and here in Central Florida, state and locally-administered programs have been slow to distribute billions of dollars in federal emergency rental assistance. The NLIHC has issued guidance on ways to design programs so the rental assistance can get out more quickly and effectively. 

One of NLIHC’s main recommendations is for programs to allow tenants to receive rental assistance directly, instead of requiring payments to be sent to landlords on renters’ behalf. Many landlords are working cooperatively with tenants to help them receive aid, but many others are not.

The House of Representatives’ Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis last week launched a formal investigation into four corporate landlords with high eviction rates during the pandemic. The subcommittee cited records and news reports – including Spectrum News reporting – showing companies have filed to evict tenants who have applied for and even received offers of rental assistance funds. Companies have also moved to evict tenants who’ve requested protection under the CDC’s eviction moratorium. 

In Orlando, Patrice Lane-Lawrence is four months pregnant and fearing eviction. She applied for rental assistance from the city, but didn’t get it because her landlord wouldn’t participate in the program. 

Lane-Lawrence says she’d love to return to work but can’t find anyone who will hire her, between her pregnancy and the grand mal seizures she suffers from and receives a $395 monthly disability benefit for. She says she also gets $142 in unemployment payments every two weeks – in total, that’s a monthly income of $537 for herself and her husband. 

“It’s just like running up against a brick wall,” Lane-Lawrence said. “I don’t like to be behind. I like to pay what I owe. I don’t like to stay anywhere for free… my mother didn’t raise me that way.”

Through tears, Lane-Lawrence said if the eviction moratorium expires and she can’t get help, she fears she may have her baby in the streets.

“That’s just the harsh reality that we’re living in today,” she said. “We — just need to try to work together a little bit better.”

Molly Duerig is a Report for America corps member who is covering affordable housing for Spectrum News 13. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.