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US-VIRUS-HEALTH-EVICTION
US extends eviction moratorium until end of year
WASHINGTON, Sept 2, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – The US government on Tuesday announced
it will extend until the end of the year a moratorium on the eviction of
tenants unable to meet their rent payments and on foreclosures of home owners
who cannot pay their mortgages because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“People struggling to pay their rent due to the coronavirus will not have
to worry about being evicted and risk further spreading… of or exposure to
the virus due to economic hardships,” said White House spokesman Brian
Morgenstern.
The measure aims to protect tens of millions of people at risk of losing
their homes because of the economic collapse triggered by the pandemic, and
potentially finding themselves forced onto the streets or into collective
housing, government officials said.
“It is essential during this pandemics that Americans have an effective
place to quarantine, isolate and socially distance,” one senior
administration official said.
In March, Congress passed a sweeping emergency aid package to help families
and businesses, but a new packages has been blocked as negotiations between
the White House and the Democrats who control the lower house stalled.
Republican President Donald Trump in August signed an executive order to
help those Americans hit by unemployment and threatened with eviction because
of the crisis.
US states have also put in place temporary protective systems for tenants
who cannot make rent or owners who cannot pay their mortgages.
Some 40 million Americans are at risk of being evicted in the coming
months, the Aspen Institute think tank warned in August.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1153 hrs