Volume XXXIV - March 2021

What Help is Out There if You Are Facing Eviction in Florida?

By: Julie Koves, Associate Attorney 

What Help is Out There if You Are Facing Eviction in Florida?

At the moment, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a federal moratorium on evictions, but it  has not stopped evictions from being filed. A recent study found that of the nearly 3 million Floridians who are renting, more than 20 percent are behind on payments and could possibly be evicted.

Housing experts say the reason is that the federal moratorium is not as strong as Florida’s own state moratorium, which was lifted in August of 2020.

The CDC's latest order extends the residential eviction ban until at least March 31, 2021. The Order prohibits residential landlords nationwide from evicting certain tenants through March 31, 2021. The Order protects tenants who:

• have used their best efforts to obtain government assistance for housing,
• are unable to pay their full rent due to a substantial loss of income,
• are making their best efforts to make timely partial payments of rent, and
• would become homeless or have to move into a shared living setting if they were to be evicted.

The Federal moratorium also requires that you to be able to document that you have fallen behind in rent because of something related to COVID, like a job loss. 

In addition, the federal government’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program has disbursed $25 billion nationwide to help those who’ve fallen behind in rent. However, those funds may no longer be available. Resources in Florida include: for rental housing assistance throughout the state visit the Affordable Rental Housing Locator at www.FloridaHousingSearch.org; you can also look for resources online at the The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau's Protections for Renters website, For electric utility payment assistance look online at:

https://www.floridahousing.org/docs/default-source/aboutflorida/coronavirus-relief-funds/electric-utility-payment-assistance.pdf?sfvrsn=adcffb7b_2

This article is for informational purposes only and you should seek professional legal advice before taking any action based on this article.  Further, this information is subject to change due to the rapidly changing legal, political and business environment.

Bart Valdes Speaks To Charter School Leaders About Defending Lawsuits

Bart Valdes was a featured speaker at the recent Florida Charter School Governance Conference.  Bart’s presentation was titled “We are getting sued!  What should we do?”   The presentation featured real world advice on how to deal with the practical impacts of a lawsuit and present the best defense possible.  Bart is the Managing Partner of the firm’s Tampa office and is considered an expert in the area of Business Litigation by the Florida Bar.  

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