Perspectives: Renters Celebrate Eviction Ban as Landlords Plan Legal Challenges

A moratorium on evictions throughout most of the U.S. has created opposing narratives across the spectrum. The Biden administration announced an eviction moratorium in all U.S. counties that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rates as having "substantial" or "high" levels of COVID-19 transmission; as of Thursday, roughly 83% of U.S. counties meet those criteria. The new ban comes after the previous nationwide moratorium expired over the weekend, which was first issued in Sept. 2020 and extended after it expired in July. Congress allocated more than $46 billion in pandemic relief funds for rental assistance; roughly 93% of that money has yet to be dispersed to renters and landlords.

The ban has divided news outlets and commentators on left and right. Reports and perspectives from left-rated sources often focused on struggling renters and how the ban would help alleviate their financial stress. Coverage from right-rated sources often highlighted struggling landlords who are unable to collect rent and are planning legal challenges to the ban; some also recalled Biden's comments from earlier this week in which he said the White House lacked legal authority to extend the ban. Voices across the spectrum have questioned the ban's legality; right-rated voices have been quicker to condemn it as unlawful.