It was a bad day for both mom-and-pop landlords and the Constitution. On Aug. 3, the Biden administration extended the nationwide eviction moratorium, dooming countless small landlords to financial ruin while openly flouting the Supreme Court, which made it clear a month earlier that an extension would require legislation. So much for the president who promised to “restore” the rule of law.

Due to the moratorium, landlords big and small have already gone more than a year facing unpaid rent that is costing them $14 to $19 billion each month. After the CARES Act’s eviction moratorium expired on July 24, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stretched its regulatory authority beyond recognition by enacting its own more extensive moratorium, including criminal penalties of prison and fines.