The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is all set to announce a new 60-day moratorium on residential evictions in areas with high levels of Covid-19 infections, the Senate's top Democrat confirmed.
While some details were still in flux, the new CDC order will protect millions of renters from eviction but will be more limited than a nationwide moratorium that expired Saturday at midnight.
The Senate Democratic Leader said in a statement the CDC had decided to "extend the eviction moratorium for 90 per cent of the country for sixty days." The CDC order is expected to be released later on Tuesday (US time), sources told an international news agency.
On Sunday, the CDC had rejected President Joe Biden's request for a new scaled-down pandemic-related moratorium, citing a lack of legal authority stemming from a recent Supreme Court decision.
Biden had urged an extension so more than $40 billion in unused money approved by Congress to help pay unpaid rent can be distributed to renters and landlords and keep people in their homes.
More than 15 million people in 6.5 million US households are currently behind on rental payments, according to a study by the Aspen Institute and the Covid-19 Eviction Defense Project, collectively owing more than $20 billion to landlords.
A Supreme Court opinion in June suggested that legislative approval would be required to extend the moratorium. It is unclear if the court will review the new more limited moratorium differently.
Joe Biden on Tuesday acknowledged the legal risks of moving ahead with a new moratorium but said it will probably give some "additional time" to renters as the issue makes it way through the courts.
The CDC moratorium, which was put in place in September 2020 and kept millions of people from being forced out of their homes for unpaid rent during the pandemic, was extended for another 30 days in June and officials at the time said it would be the final extension.
But with Covid-19 rates climbing, some House Democrats led by Representative Cori Bush staged a protest outside the US Capitol that put pressure on the administration to reverse course and protect renters at risk.
The new moratorium is expected to last until October 3.
Two other sources said it is expected to apply to about 80 per cent of US counties that have substantial or high Covid-19 transmission rates, which would cover about 90 per cent of the US population. Those figures could not immediately be confirmed.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, both Democrats, had urged a reinstatement of the ban after Congress was unable to do so.
"This brand new moratorium will provide time for the money allocated by Congress to flow, as it helps stop the spread of the virus which is worsening due to the Delta variant and protects families and landlords," Pelosi said in a statement.
Biden also called on state and local governments to extend or put in place eviction bans for at least the next two months, White House spokeswoman Psaki said.
(With inputs from agencies)