Federal eviction ban renewed through June

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On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention renewed their ban on certain evictions. This is the ban’s third extension since it went into effect last September.
Some legal aid attorneys believe the ban hasn’t protected everyone it should have, though. For one thing, some of the eligibility requirements are subjective. Landlords can challenge a tenant’s eligibility in court, which allows them to question whether or not the renter did their best to make partial rent payments – one of the ban’s requirements. Alex Kornya, litigation director for Iowa Legal Aid, told me earlier this month: “What might be the ‘best efforts’ for one judge might not be for another, and you have essentially people who have a hard time, some of them, really putting themselves in the shoes of someone in poverty like our clients. … And that has led to some unfair results.”
The way the moratorium works is that it only protects renters who sign a document that states they are eligible for the ban. For that to happen, they have to know about the ban and that document.
Part of why that’s an issue: Since the moratorium went into effect, legal aid attorneys and housing advocates have told us that many renters facing eviction don’t know the ban exists.
We’re planning to publish a story in late April on the state of evictions. Our reporting depends on help from our readers. If you find value in our work on this important topic, please donate to support our reporting costs.

From The Kansas City Star: In 2018, a police officer in Overland Park, Kansas shot and killed 17-year-old John Albers. Shortly after prosecutors opted not to charge the officer, Clayton Jenison, he signed a $70,000 severance agreement with the city. That document, which came to light through an open records lawsuit filed by The Star, says Jenison “resigned voluntarily under ordinary circumstances.” Sheila Albers, the victim’s mother, disputed that claim in a complaint filed with the state’s agency responsible for licensing police. Any other explanation for Jenison’s departure would have required the department to provide additional information to the state.
The arrest of Georgia state Rep. Park Cannon follows that of other Black elected women, whose numbers are growing in state legislatures. “When they arrest us, it’s to send a message to our communities that we can come for the very people that you put in offices to speak for you and to be your voice,” Kentucky state Rep. Attica Scott told The 19th. Scott was arrested last year during a Black Lives Matter protest.

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– Mollie Bryant
Founder and editor, Big If True