D.C.'s COVID-Era Eviction Policies Come Back To Bite
Plus: Massachusetts NIMBYs get their day in court, Pittsburgh one-step forward, two-steps back approach to zoning reform, and a surprisingly housing-heavy VP debate.
Eviction Moratorium
Code Games
Plus: An appeals court sides with property owners seeking compensation for the CDC's eviction ban, a Michigan court backs the would-be builders of a "green cemetery," and Kamala Harris' spotty supply-side credentials.
Federal Appellate Court Rules in Favor of Takings Lawsuit Against the CDC's Covid-Era Eviction Moratorium
The 2-1 decision overrules a trial court decision that went the other way, and could set an important property rights precedent.
Academics Use Imaginary Data in Their Research
Academia values the appearance of truth over actual truth.
New NBER Study Finds Covid Eviction Moratoria Increased Racial Discrimination
Moratoria caused landlords to be less willing to rent to black tenants.
Are 'Squatters' Rights' Out of Control?
Too many property owners are having trouble asserting their rights, but not everything is "squatter's rights."
My Contribution to Brennan Center Symposium on the Most Significant State Constitutional Cases of 2023
I focus on the Washington Supreme Court's flawed decision holding an eviction moratorium is not a taking of private property.
ACLU-Backed Complaint Says Not Renting to People With Past Evictions Is Illegal Race, Sex Discrimination
HOPE Fair Housing Center argues in a new federal complaint that an Illinois landlord's blanket refusal to rent to people with eviction records amounts to illegal sex and race discrimination.
Gorsuch Condemns 'Breathtaking' COVID Emergency Powers That Crushed Civil Liberties
"Since March 2020, we may have experienced the greatest intrusions on civil liberties in the peacetime history of this country," Gorsuch wrote. That might be an exaggeration, but it isn't far off.
Trump's Disregard for the Rule of Law Is at Least As Bad As Biden's
The former president reminds us that claiming unbridled executive power is a bipartisan tendency.
New York Lawmakers Could Pass the Nation's Strictest State-Level Rent Control Law by the End of the Week
A controversial "good cause" eviction bill that would cap rent increases could be included in a budget bill that must pass by April 1.
The COVID-19 Pandemic Permanently Damaged Property Rights
Officials used the crisis to impose policies they already supported but couldn't get through the normal legislative process, like bans on evictions.
Los Angeles County Extends Its Eviction Moratorium Again, Citing Rising COVID, Flu, RSV Cases
Landlords say that nearly three years of eviction moratoriums is forcing some property owners out of the rental business entirely.
Federal Court of Claims Rejects Takings Claims Against CDC Eviction Moratorium
But it does so on the ground that the moratorium was never properly "authorized," not because a moratorium could never be a taking.
L.A.'s Eternal Eviction Moratorium
Now that the pandemic is fading and much of the available rent relief has been spent, L.A.'s eviction moratorium seems like pure regulatory inertia.
If the CDC's Mask Mandate Is 'Necessary for the Public Health,' Why Didn't the DOJ Seek a Stay To Restore It?
The Biden administration's main priority seems to be leaving the agency's authority vague enough to allow future interventions.
The DOJ Is Reluctant To Continue Defending the CDC's Mask Mandate Because It Worries It Will Lose Again
Clarifying the agency's authority could impede future power grabs.
Eighth Circuit Rules Eviction Moratoria are Likely to be Takings Requiring Compensation Under the Fifth Amendment
The court based its decision on the US Supreme Court's 2021 decision in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid.
The Pandemic Is Over. California's Pandemic-Era Eviction Protections Are Getting Extended.
A.B. 2179 would stop some local-level eviction moratoriums from going into effect, while leaving untouched ones that have been in place since the beginning of the pandemic.
My New Article on "Nondelegation Limits on COVID Emergency Powers: Lessons from the Eviction Moratorium and Title 42 Cases"
The eviction moratorium and Title 42 "public health" expulsion cases have many parallels that may have been ignored because of their differing ideological valence. Both strengthen the case for nondeferential judicial review of the exercise of emergency powers.
Missouri Lawmakers Propose Ban on Eviction Bans
A series of bills introduced in the state Legislature would prohibit city councils and county courts from adopting their own eviction moratoriums.
OSHA's Vaccine Mandate Illustrates the Perils of Reflexively Deferring to Government Experts
The question for the Supreme Court was not whether the policy was wise but whether it was legal.
The Eviction "Tsunami" that Wasn't
Defenders of the CDC eviction moratorium predicted a "tsunami" of evictions would happen if the policy were rescinded. That hasn't happened.
One of the Country's Last Eviction Moratoriums Is Struck Down
Plus: Quarantine requirements for international travelers, Fed Chair Jerome Powell says it's time to stop calling inflation "transitory," and more...
When Lawyers Make Things Worse—Housing Edition
A study suggests that "right-to-counsel" in eviction cases actually leads to greater homelessness.
The Eviction Tsunami That Wasn't
A month after the Supreme Court struck down the CDC's eviction moratorium, eviction filings remain well below pre-pandemic averages.
How the CDC Became America's Landlord
Pandemic bans on evictions were supposed to be a temporary measure, but politicians keep extending them.
Progressive Democrats Propose Eviction Moratorium Far More Sweeping Than the One the Supreme Court Struck Down
The Keeping Renters Safe Act would give bureaucrats a blank check to ban evictions during future outbreaks.
What Fear Does to Our Freedom
COVID-19 and 9/11 both created opportunities to restrict our liberties in the name of keeping us safe.
Biden Admits He Can't Mandate Masks. Why Does He Think He Can Mandate Vaccines?
Biden's sudden embrace of a federal vaccine requirement seems inconsistent with his acknowledgment that he cannot mandate every COVID-19 precaution he'd like people to follow.
Crises Bring Out the Toddler in Power-Hungry Politicians
Thwarted politicians rant, pout, and are outraged by anybody who pushes back.
Biden Keeps Pushing Dubious Arguments for CDC Supremacy
The president seems determined to anoint the agency’s director as the nation’s COVID-19 dictator, no matter what the law says.
Critics of the SCOTUS Decision Against the CDC's Eviction Moratorium Might Miss the Rule of Law When They Need It
The Court said it "strains credulity" to believe that Congress gave the CDC the "breathtaking amount of authority" it asserted.
Supreme Court Says Private Property Rights and Separation of Powers Do Still Exist in U.S.
Plus: Biden won't budge on Afghanistan, bad news for psychedelics measure in California, and more...
D.C. Circuit Denies Motion to Block CDC Eviction Moratorium (Updated)
Next stop, Supreme Court?
Why Do People Keep Overlooking the Sixth Circuit?
Contrary to what some claim, the Sixth Circuit was the first federal appellate court to issue a ruling on the merits of the CDC eviction moratorium.
"This Is No Way to Rule a Country"
If an eviction moratorium is needed, why wouldn't the legislature try to enact one?
Is the CDC's Eviction Moratorium a Third Amendment Violation?
The Third Amendment Lawyers Association argues in a recent amicus brief that the federal eviction ban requires landlords to quarter soldiers.
Eviction Moratorium Madness
The Reason Roundtable discusses property rights, vaccine passports, and media ethics.
After Claiming It Didn't Have the Power To Impose A New Eviction Moratorium, the Biden Administration Imposes a New Eviction Moratorium
The new eviction moratorium applies to the 90 percent of counties in the U.S. where the spread of COVID-19 is "substantial" or "high."
A Takings Clause Lawsuit Against the CDC Eviction Moratorium
Thanks to the Supreme Court's decision in the Cedar Point case, this suit has much better odds of success than previous takings challenges to eviction moratoria.
Should Taxpayers Be on the Hook for All Rental Debt Accrued During the Pandemic?
A new lawsuit from landlords argues that the CDC's eviction moratorium was a taking, and that they're entitled to compensation.
Australia Is the Canary in the Coal Mine of Eroding Liberty
Without a Bill of Rights, the land down under quickly goes where America may eventually follow.
Federal Appeals Court Sneaks in One Final Ruling Against the CDC's Expiring Eviction Moratorium
Circuit Judge John K. Bush accuses the federal government of laying claim to "near-dictatorial powers."
If the CDC Can Impose a Nationwide Eviction Moratorium, Why Can't It Impose a Nationwide Vaccine Mandate?
It could, if it actually had the vast public health powers that the Biden administration claims it does.
New Treasury Data Shows That the Rollout of Emergency Rent Relief Continues to Be a Hot Mess
Congress approved $25 Billion in emergency rental assistance in December. Only 6 percent of that money has been spent so far.
Why Didn't COVID-19 Kill the Constitution?
We can thank judges who were prepared to enforce constitutional limits on public health powers.
At Least 5 Justices Seem To Think the CDC's Eviction Moratorium Is Illegal. SCOTUS Left It in Place Anyway.
Brett Kavanaugh, who provided a crucial fifth vote, said he agrees that the CDC does not have the authority to override rental contracts.
