DeSantis extends residential foreclosure and eviction ban another month

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis extended the state’s moratorium on evictions and foreclosures to Sept. 1, two days before the order was set to expire.

DeSantis made an amendment to the original order, which has created confusion among the courts, lawyers, landlords and tenants, and borrowers and homeowners, experts say. The executive order, signed in early April, only allows residential tenants and borrowers to stay in their homes if they were unable to pay rent or mortgages due to the Covid-19 emergency. It did not and does not provide financial relief.

All payments are due when the borrower or tenant is “no longer adversely affected” by coronavirus, according to the updated order.

The moratorium refers to “final action at the conclusion of a mortgage foreclosure proceeding” by a single-family borrower – in this case a term that likely applies to owners of individual condos, houses and townhouses.

After multiple extensions of the governor’s emergency order, and a surge in coronavirus cases in Florida, industry players had expected another extension, sources said. As of Wednesday, Florida had 451,423 positive Covid-19 cases and 6,333 confirmed deaths. Mass layoffs have also continued since March, when the pandemic began to take a toll on the economy.

Many expect there to be a deluge of evictions and foreclosures once the freeze is lifted.