Tenants who can’t pay rent due to COVID-19 pandemic cannot be evicted until 2021

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - A federal policy change will prevent landlords from evicting thousands of Louisianans who have fallen behind on rent because of the coronavirus.

A directive from the Trump administration prevents landlords from evicting renters who took a pay cut or lost their jobs because of the pandemic until 2021. To be eligible, the tenants cannot make more than $99,000 and they have to prove they’d be homeless if they were evicted.

Renters will also have to demonstrate they’ve tried to get help through government rental assistance programs to meet the criteria.

“For any individual facing eviction, that’s going to be welcome news. They do need to know there’s nothing in the order that gets rid of the obligation to pay rent at some point,” said Governor John Bel Edwards.

Rent is still due on time, and landlords can charge late fees. They can also evict tenants for other contract violations, like property damage.

“It’s critically important that tenants communicate with their landlords,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said, adding that the state is still trying to determine how the policy will work.

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