The National Apartment Association (NAA) has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to recover damages on behalf of rental housing providers who have suffered severe economic losses under the federal eviction moratorium issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The NAA is the first organization to take legal action seeking compensation for the CDC’s order, stating the eviction moratorium “directly harms those who provide critically needed rental homes, jeopardizes the long-term viability of housing infrastructure, and sets a dangerous precedent for future disaster-response measures.”
A leading voice for the rental housing industry, the NAA has voiced its opposition to the moratorium and has encouraged a shift to focusing on the distribution of rent relief. It was among the first to take legal action challenging the CDC’s authority last September by joining the New Civil Liberties Alliance lawsuit.
“America’s 40 million renters will still need a place to call home tomorrow, next year, and next decade,” said Bob Pinnegar, NAA president and CEO. “The CDC’s irresponsible eviction policy has jeopardized not only the availability, but also the future cost of rental housing, and leaves renters saddled with crippling debt. NAA is standing up for an industry—and its residents—that are left holding the bag on $26.6 billion in rental debt after operating under extreme conditions for 16 months. The government has intruded into private property and constitutional freedoms, and we are proudly fighting to make owners whole and ensure residents’ debt is wiped from their record.”
The NAA stated that the lawsuit, NAA et al. v. The United States of America, is open to all rental housing providers who are operating in a state or locality under the federal moratorium and have been damaged by the CDC order. The suit argues that the CDC order curbed several rights under the U.S. Constitution, including the right to access the courts, the freedom to contract with others absent government interference, the right to demand compensation when property is taken by government action, and the limits of federal government power.
The NAA action seeks to limit rental housing providers’ losses as well as clear the debt records of their residents to help secure the long-term health of the industry and continue to provide rental housing across incomes.
NAA is represented by Dorsey & Whitney and the law office of John McDermott.
“The rental housing industry should not be held solely responsible for solving our nation’s housing crisis, which has been exacerbated in this pandemic, and government agencies should not have the authority to disregard constitutional rights and trade one crisis for another,” stated the NAA.
