“First Do No Harm …” reads the Hippocratic oath. But in their zeal to protect public health through lockdowns and other edicts, critics say many public health officials appear unresponsive to other harms they may be causing.
On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced an extension of the federal eviction moratorium through June 30. Director Rochelle Walensky said, “Preventing evictions is a key step in helping to stop the spread of COVID-19.” The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission followed up, calling “unacceptable … reports that major multistate landlords are forcing people out of their homes despite the government prohibitions …”
While acknowledging the plight of tenants, many local, state, and federal government agencies appear dismissive of the plight of small-time landlords, such as Rich Tyson of Rochester, New York.
“My property tax by liability per year is approximately $58,000. I’ve lost more than that year to date from tenants, not affected by COVID, but who simply have chosen not to pay rent. … I’ve lost essentially $60,000 this year in rents that are, essentially, never going to get recouped,” said Tyson.
Tyson wrote to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and received a terse response from a state agency, saying, “New York State is not currently offering a payment assistance program for property or school tax bills due to the pandemic, the enactment of such programs would require legislative action to provide funding. I hope you find this information to be of assistance.”
Clarence is another landlord. He rents out a house he owns in Brooklyn, New York. The renters haven’t paid for 15 months. He’s lost $40,000, saying, “I’m going to be upfront and honest. I’ve exhausted all my savings. … I’m responsible for providing heat to hot water, insurance, gas, and maintenance, even though I have a tenant or tenants who just don’t pay.”
In many jurisdictions, Washington, D.C., is one example, local eviction moratoriums extend well beyond the federal moratorium, allowing nonpayment for any reason, with often predictable results.
Dean Hunter, Small Multifamily Owners Association on WMAL radio, D.C.:
Q: “You had a landlord thrown down the stairs by squatters?”
Hunter: “That’s not even the worst of it. We’ve had situations where individuals with guns, individuals, shootings. There’s tenants who’ve thrown blood on the wall, all kinds of indescribable things. … People cannot be evicted who are terrorizing the community, terrorizing tenants and property owners. The D.C. council has totally overreacted. The D.C. moratorium doesn’t even expire until 60 days after the federal emergency.”
The federal eviction moratorium began under President Donald Trump. But he was apparently wary of its downside should it and other government restrictions carry on too long.
Trump said, “Ultimately, the goal is to ease the guidelines and open things up to very large sections of our country as we near the end of our historic battle with the invisible enemy. … I hope we can do this by Easter.”
That was Easter of a year ago. Under a new administration, the urgency to return to normalcy appears more cautious, sometimes even fearful.
“I’m going to reflect on the recurring feeling I have of impending doom. We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where, and so much reason for hope. But right now, I’m scared,” said Walensky.
That sentiment, along with the extension of the eviction moratorium, sends a wildly mixed signal, given the CDC’s own study, which found that “Household transmission of SARS-Cov-2 is common …” apparently even if you’re not paying rent in the household where you live.
