The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ordered a stop to some evictions and residential removals beginning Sept. 4 to the end of the year.
But a renter must provide a declaration to their landlord or property manager, certifying that the order applies to them, for it to work.
For people who may not have access to a printer, the Kentucky Equal Justice Center developed a computer application that allows people facing eviction to fill out and sign the CDC document online and email it to their landlord. Click here to use the tool.
Some justice court judges, the people in charge of evictions across Mississippi, are being more proactive, informing tenants of the option. But others are conducting business as usual, only considering the CDC order when it comes up.
Hinds County has seen 260 evictions and 78 warrants of removal just in the last 2 weeks.
The CDC issued a nationwide eviction moratorium that took effect Sept. 4, but it only works if the tenant asks for it, which means they must be aware it exists. https://t.co/PwiNj8Y2Z6
— Anna Wolfe (@ayewolfe) September 17, 2020
The order covers people who: 1) earned less than $99,000 in 2020, 2) are unable to pay rent due to income loss, a layoff, or extraordinary out-of-pocket expenses, 3) are making their best effort to pay what they can, 4) have made their best effort to secure other government assistance for rent or housing (such as the Rental Assistance for Mississippians Program (RAMP)), and 5) face homelessness if they are evicted.
Mississippians facing eviction may fill out the document below to invoke the CDC order:
declaration-form