The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, more popularly known as the CARES Act is a $2.2 trillion economic stimulus bill passed and signed into law on March 27, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act was designed to provide some economic relief to US citizens, authorizing stimulus payments among other things and placing a moratorium on certain evictions based on nonpayment of rent or other fees or charges. Section 4023(e) and 4024(c) provided some additional protection for tenants by requiring lessors of “covered dwellings” to issue 30-day notices to vacate prior to initiating summary ejectment proceedings. Covered dwellings are properties that participate in certain federal assistance programs, subject to a federally-backed mortgage loan, or a federally-backed multifamily mortgage loan. This includes, without limitation, the Low-Income Tax Credit (LIHTC), a Section 8 voucher program, mortgage loans owned or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Agriculture (USDA), or the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Now that, for the most part, things have returned to normal, the question is, as a covered dwelling, am I still required to issue a 30-day notice to vacate prior to initiating summary ejectment proceedings? The answer is yes. Although the moratorium saw its end in late July 2020 and a number of the provisions in the CARES Act expired, remnants of the CARES Act still linger. The CARES Act is federal law, so despite the legislation enacted by individual states being rescinded or expiring, it must still be acknowledged. Per guidance provided by HUD, the 30-day Notice to Vacate requirement (Section 4024 (c)) still remains in effect and will continue to do so up and until (1) the property is refinanced making the mortgage no longer federally backed, or (2) the CARES Act is revised or repealed. Additionally, there have been a number of suits in varying states that pose the same question and courts have held the 30-day Notice to Vacate requirement is still mandatory.

Do you think Congress will pass a bill bringing an end to the 30-day Notice to Vacate requirement? Is this requirement a huge inconvenience?

For more information regarding this requirement, click the links below.

Text – H.R.748 – 116th Congress (2019-2020): CARES Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

Federal Register :: 30-Day Notification Requirement Prior to Termination of Lease for Nonpayment of Rent

White-House-Blueprint-for-a-Renters-Bill-of-Rights.pdf (whitehouse.gov)