Evictions are back in Miami-Dade, but most COVID tenant protections remain in place
Miami-Dade police now have the green light to resume evictions filed before the coronavirus emergency began in March, a limited end to tenant protections that left landlords unable to find new renters when the current ones stopped paying.
With days left in office, Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced Friday he was allowing county police to process evictions filed before March 13, the first full day of the county’s state of emergency for the coronavirus pandemic.
The Gimenez administration had planned to resume processing pre-COVID evictions in September but backed off the change after the news became public.
The change in police policy came by press release Friday, with Gimenez saying, “I wanted to make sure the process is fair to both tenants and landlords.”
Gimenez’s term as mayor ends Monday at midnight, and he’s in Washington for orientation as the new Republican representative in Florida’s 26th Congressional District. The Gimenez administration has approved millions of dollars in rent supplements through county CARES Act programs.
Gimenez’s successor in County Hall, Daniella Levine Cava, said she was aware of the pending change for the county police department that will begin reporting to her on Tuesday. In an interview, Levine Cava did not raise objections to the switch and described the order as applying to evictions “that happened before the pandemic” and not related to COVID-19.
Asked if she would change the order, Levine Cava did not answer but said she’s working on a plan to assist displaced tenants once the regular eviction system resumes.
For now, an existing Gimenez order still prevents county police from serving eviction papers for actions started during the coronavirus emergency.
Those evictions had been frozen in the courts by a Gov. Ron DeSantis statewide order, but that moratorium expired Oct. 1. A federal restriction on evictions imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expires Dec. 31.
“We’re working with the police and the Homeless Trust and other social service groups,” said Levine Cava, an outgoing county commissioner. “We have some ideas to put out to deal with what I anticipate to be a significant number of people will lose their homes.”
The CDC ban applies to renters and homeowners who expect to earn no more than $99,000 this year (or $198,000 for joint tax returns), have made at least partial monthly payments and would likely become homeless or be forced to move to a residence shared by other people.
The ban only affects evictions related to non-payment and does not cover non-monetary evictions, such as destruction of property or nuisance.
At the end of the ban, landlords and banks can collect all outstanding payments, including accrued interest. Failure to pay the money owed in full could result in an eviction, unless the order is extended into 2021.
Miami attorney David Winker, who represents dozens of landlords and tenants on both sides of the eviction crisis, said he is sympathetic.
“Mayor Gimenez has been under incredible pressure from landlords to allow execution of writs to go forward, but today’s policy change is extremely limited as it applies only to evictions filed prior to the March 12 start of the pandemic,” he said. “It will be interesting to see how the new administration deals with this issue.”
This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 3:54 PM.
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