THE ERA OF COVID-19
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"Losing a home is catastrophic at any time, and during the COVID-19 peacetime emergency in particular, losing housing endangers the public peace, health, and safety of all Minnesotans." (Gov. Walz, Executive Order 20-14). |
MINNESOTA EXECUTIVE ORDERS
Emergency executive orders issued by Governor Tim Walz, provide some protections to tenants during the current COVID-19 crisis: with some exceptions no evictions, termination of leases, or writs of recovery are allowed beginning on March 23rd, 2020 through at least January 31, 2021.
actual text of emergency executive order 20-14
- "Beginning no later than March 24, 2020 at 5:00 pm, and continuing for the duration of the peacetime emergency declared in Executive Order 20-01 or until this Executive Order is rescinded, for property owners, mortgage holders, or other persons entitled to recover residential premises after March 1, 2020 because a household remains in the property after a notice of termination of lease, after the termination of the redemption period for a residential foreclosure, after a residential lease has been breached, or after nonpayment of rent, the ability to file an eviction action... is suspended."
- "All residential landlords must cease terminating residential leases during the pendency of the emergency."
- "All officers who hold a writ of recovery of premises and order to vacate must cease executing such writs."
- "Financial institutions holding home mortgages are requested to implement an immediate moratorium on all pending and future foreclosures."
CARES ACT
The federal “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act,” otherwise known as the “CARES Act,” provides some protections to tenants during the current COVID-19 crisis: no eviction or late charge is allowed from March 27, 2020 through Friday, July 24, 2020 for properties financed by federally-backed mortgages.
Actual Text of Public Law No. 116-136, Section 4024
"Tenants in specified federally backed housing (e.g., federally subsidized housing, rural voucher-program housing, and housing financed through federally backed mortgages) may not be evicted for 120 days beginning on the date of enactment of this Act [March 27, 2020]. A lessor that serves an eviction notice after this time period must provide the tenant with 30 days to vacate. Furthermore, during the 120-day moratorium, tenants may not be charged late fees, penalties, or other charges for nonpayment of rent."