BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — With many people still going through financial hardships due to the pandemic, the news that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was issuing a new eviction moratorium was welcomed by some.

However, some are wary of the new moratorium, including some landlords and those advocating for property managers. 


What You Need To Know

  • The eviction moratorium was announced on Aug. 3

  • It was met with some opposition by groups that said it doesn’t tackle the main issues

  • The 60-day moratorium is set to expire on Oct. 3

Carl Guettler, the owner of Guettler Realty Group in Cocoa, said he was surprised to hear that a new moratorium was approved by the CDC.

He said that, fortunately, all of his clients that have rental properties haven’t had an issue getting rent from their tenants, but he noted that there are plenty of landlords in different circumstances. Coordinating the rental assistance, too, is not a simple process, Guettler said.

“My colleagues and such have explained that it’s a difficult process to get the actual rent to the proper place, and therefore avoid any kind of necessary eviction,” he said.

Some organizations, like the Florida Apartment Association (FAA), argued that the eviction moratorium misses the underlying issue: the tenant’s ability to pay rent. 

On Wednesday, FAA government affairs director Amanda White released the following statement on the matter:

“There's no question that the Florida rental housing industry has gone to great lengths without government intervention to help residents in need by maintaining an open line of communication, establishing alternative payment plans, waiving late fees, and so much more. On the other hand, the federal eviction moratorium has never addressed the underlying issue, which is an individual's inability to pay rent. This flawed policy leaves renters facing insurmountable debt while jeopardizing our already strained rental housing supply. The only viable solution that protects both renters and housing providers is the timely and effective distribution of rental assistance funds to those in need.

“Regardless of the new moratorium, the Florida apartment industry will continue to focus on keeping residents stably housed by navigating the patchwork of rental assistance program requirements across the state. To that end, the Florida Apartment Association and its affiliates remain committed to working with the state and local governments to ensure the expeditious delivery of these much-needed funds."

As of now, the moratorium order will expire on Oct. 3, and the CDC said it only applies in areas with “substantial and high” levels of COVID-19 transmission. In practice, that accounts for about 80% of counties in the U.S. and covers about 90% of where the population lives.

Guettler said he hopes that the pandemic can be brought under control in the next few months, so that the moratorium can be allowed to lapse without harming either tenants or landlords.

“If we can keep things fairly manageable, I would certainly like to see it end for sure in October and just get things back to normal, where they should be, with the tenant-landlord relationships,” he said.