Liberty Blog

Federal judge declares CDC ban on evictions over COVID-19 to be unconstitutional
A federal judge in Texas has declared that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) moratorium on evictions for COVID reasons violates the U.S. Constitution.
Decision here.
The CDC moratorium on evictions had been in effect and was extended until at least March 31, 2021. The District Court for the Eastern District of Texas held that the eviction moratorium restricted an individual''s property rights and denied them access to State court proceedings and thus were not permitted by the Interstate Commerce Clause of the US Constitution. Since the CDC moratorium on evictions was a nationwide order of a federal agency, the Court's Declaration of unconstitutionally likewise applies nationally, including in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
However, the Court's decision does not affect any local or State regulations or bans on evictions for COVID reasons, which at time of writing, do not exist state-wide in Pennsylvania, though that may change after this Court decision.