The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked the Biden administration's eviction moratorium, putting hundreds of thousands of American families at risk of being evicted from their homes amid the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an eight-page majority opinion issued Thursday, the Supreme Court ended the dispute over whether the administration, specifically the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had authority to ban evictions during a public health crisis.
Biden's New Eviction Moratorium
"Congress was on notice that a further extension would almost surely require new legislation, yet it failed to act in the several weeks leading up to the moratorium's expiration," the unsigned opinion read. "If a federally imposed eviction moratorium is to continue, Congress must specifically authorize it."
The decision now puts hundreds of thousands of tenants across the United States at risk of losing their homes.
According to data, there were 6,563 evictions in the last week across the nation. Since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, at least 488,069 evictions have been filed. As of Thursday, the states with the most eviction filings last week were Connecticut, with 120; Delaware, 112; Indiana, 841; Minnesota, 117; Missouri, 429; and New Mexico, 194, as reported by the Eviction Lab.
The ruling will likely put more pressure on congressional Democrats to propose legislation and extend the eviction moratorium despite opposition from Republicans.
However, landlords have celebrated the Supreme Court's latest decision, arguing that the moratoriums have saddled them with billions of dollars in debt.
"The government must move past failed policies and begin to seriously address the nation's debt tsunami, which is crippling both renters and housing providers alike," Bob Pinnegar, the president of the National Apartment Association, a trade association representing large landlords, said, according to The New York Times.
Blocked by the Supreme Court
The decision comes after the Biden administration on Monday filed a brief with the Supreme Court where it noted that the more contagious Delta variant has caused a new surge of COVID-19 cases in recent weeks.
On Aug. 19, the country's seven-day average of cases was at 130,926, which was a ten-fold increase from the figures recorded when the court ruled over a former eviction moratorium in June, according to CNN.
As of Thursday, health officials recorded 187,439 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus. The country's seven-day average was also at 156,296, according to an analysis of data by The Times.
More than 100,000 people are currently admitted to hospitals with COVID-19 across the U.S. The figures have been the highest reported since January. The only other period the numbers surpassed 100,000 was in late November. A vast majority of those currently hospitalized are unvaccinated.
The Delta variant, which is more transmissible than the original strain, has caused hospitalizations and infections to soar since late June. It has led to a six-fold increase in the number of admissions when compared to nine weeks ago, the Department of Health and Human Services said, as reported by CNN.