GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
Eviction Moratorium Updates & Important Election Dates By: Max Brandow, RASM Government Affairs Director
L
ately, we have seen a lot of movement at the national and state level to address eviction moratoriums. At the time of this article, Governor Desantis extended his eviction moratorium to the beginning of this month. The order limited the scope of some provisions of earlier orders.
The order only restricts residential evictions.
It does not restrict eviction on commercial properties. The order only prohibits the issuance of the final action. The governor’s order doesn’t prohibit the filing of an eviction, only the last step of the eviction process. The order only applies to evictions for the nonpayment of rent for those adversely affected by specifically defined circumstances related to the COVID-19 emergency. The governor’s order does not apply to evictions related to other circumstances such as expired leases, hold over tenancies, or valid violations of lease provisions. The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) recently sent a letter to congressional leaders to address the issues of eviction moratoriums without an accompanying supplemental rental assistance.
“The action taken yesterday by the Administration enacting a federal residential eviction moratorium through December 31, 2020, without rental assistance, will ultimately harm the very people it aims to help. It will be impossible for housing providers, particularly small owners, to meet their financial obligations and continue to provide shelter to their residents. Furthermore, it saddles renters with an unmanageable amount of debt due to months of unpaid rent, potentially dating back to March.” To see the full letter NAR sent to Congress, you can find it at this web address: narfocus.com/billdatabase/ clientfiles/172/2/4136.pdf
IMPORTANT ELECTION DATES To see a list of RASM supported candidates, head over to www.myrasm.com/publicpolicy/2020candidates/ Monday, October 5: Book Closing - November 3 General Election Last day to register to vote. Monday, October 19 - Sunday, November 1: Early voting for November 3 General Election 8:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. daily at following locations: Elections office: 13640 Tamiami Trl, North Port Elections office: 2001 Adams Lane, Sarasota Elections office: 4000 Tamiami Trl S, Venice Fruitville Library: 100 Coburn Rd, Sarasota North Sarasota Library: 2801 Newtown Blvd, Sarasota Sarasota Square Mall: 8201 S Tamiami Trl, Sarasota Shannon Staub Library: 4675 Career Lane, North Port Bee Ridge Park: 4430 S Lockwood Ridge Rd, Sarasota Saturday, October 24: Last day to request a vote-by-mail ballot be mailed to a voter, 5:00 p.m. deadline. Tuesday, November 3: Election Day - General Election Polls open 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. Vote-by-mail ballots must be returned to the supervisor of elections office by 7:00 p.m. •
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