Eviction Moratorium: Government Eviction Pauses (2026)

What an Eviction Moratorium Does

Moratoriums typically block courts from ordering evictions for a limited time. Their specific actions include:

• Prohibiting landlords from filing eviction lawsuits
• Directing courts to freeze processing of eviction filings
• Blocking judges from issuing writs of eviction

Although courts won’t process evictions during the moratorium, rent will typically continue to accrue.

Which Tenants and Evictions Are Covered?

To understand the breadth of a moratorium, you must first understand landlord-tenant law. An eviction is a judicial process for lawfully ejecting a tenant from leased property for any of the following reasons:

• Failure to pay rent
• Material breach of the lease
• Holding over past the lease’s end

Since moratoriums are typically used to limit economic disruption after disasters, governments may try to make them as broad as possible. At the same time, this remedy can cause economic hardship to landlords. As a result, their duration and scope are often limited.

For example, the federal CARES Act moratorium targeted tenants in public housing or rentals with federally backed mortgages. It lasted just 120 days and only covered evictions for non-payment of rent.

Why Tenants Still Owe Rent During a Moratorium

Rent accrues during a moratorium for two reasons. First, landlords are generally blameless for the disaster that triggered the moratorium. Additionally, depriving a landlord of rent could effectively constitute a property seizure.

How Federal, State, and Local Protections Differ

Government moratoriums differ in a couple of respects.

Local and state governments respond to localized disasters, while national moratoriums respond to national disasters. For example, the Los Angeles Housing Department implemented a moratorium on evictions of qualifying tenants affected by wildfires in January 2025.

Governments are also limited by jurisdiction. The City of Los Angeles, for example, can’t implement a moratorium in San Diego.

How the Federal CDC Moratorium Ended

These limits likely played a role in a moratorium ordered by the CDC during the COVID-19 pandemic. Congress passed the CARES Act, which imposed a 120-day moratorium. As the pandemic continued, Congress extended the moratorium once, then the CDC extended it three more times.

Importantly, the CDC also expanded its scope to cover all renters, not just those in public housing or rentals with federally backed mortgages.

A court found that the CDC’s moratorium likely exceeded its authority but paused its orders pending a CDC appeal. The Supreme Court, focused strictly on the procedural question of the stay, “unpaused” the lower court’s orders, striking down the moratorium.

Are Eviction Moratoriums Still in Effect Today?

None of the COVID-19 moratoriums are in effect today. However, targeted moratoriums come and go based on local disasters.

Help for Renters and Landlords Facing Eviction

Many state and local governments have rent-assistance programs. For example, Maine has an eviction-prevention program for renters who earn less than 60% of their county’s average income and spend more than 30% of their income on rent.

Government Intervention in Evictions

An eviction stemming from an unavoidable disaster might be subject to a moratorium. However, even if a moratorium doesn’t cover a tenant’s situation, other rent-assistance resources may be available.