Miami-Dade suspends evictions and water cut-offs during coronavirus emergency

Miami-Dade police announced Thursday that officers would not assist with evictions during the emergency declared by Mayor Carlos Gimenez for the coronavirus pandemic.

The agency said it “has temporarily suspended all eviction activities until further notice” in a release sent Thursday morning. The action means officers won’t assist landlords in removing tenants or serving court papers, freezing evictions until further notice.

“The only ones that can follow through on eviction orders is us,” said police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta. “From this point forward, those papers and those orders will not be processed.”

The decision to halt evictions over COVID-19 comes on the heels of outrage last year when county police assisted evicting a 75-year-old from her South Beach apartment ahead of Hurricane Dorian. Gimenez said after the incident that the eviction was a mistake and the county would no longer be evicting people during emergencies.

On Friday, the county’s Water and Sewer Department also notified county commissioners that on Thursday it had halted both service cut-offs for no unpaid bills and was suspending late fees during the coronavirus emergency.

This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 11:32 AM.