DeKalb Creates Eviction Moratorium As Nationwide Ban Expires

DEKALB COUNTY, GA — Just as the nationwide eviction moratorium expired and put millions of Americans in danger of losing their homes, one DeKalb County judge made sure that wouldn't happen in her county for at least another two months.

DeKalb Superior Court Judge Asha Jackson enacted an emergency order Friday banning evictions countywide for the next 60 days. She signed the order following the expiration of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's eviction moratorium, and due to the cybersecurity attack on DeKalb County's Tenant-Landlord Assistance Coalition program in the spring, which delayed relief to thousands of residents, according to the emergency order.

“This emergency order is a Godsend,” DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond said in a news release. “Without this local extension to the CDC moratorium, thousands of DeKalb residents faced the stark reality of having their belongings set out on the street in the midst of surging COVID-19 infection rates.”

The existing TLAC program — launched in February — caps the amount of past due rent that can be paid to landlords at 60 percent of the arrearages up to $10,000 and two months of prospective rent. Thurmond will present a revised version of this reimbursement at Tuesday's Board of Commissioners meeting, which will pay landlords 100 percent of all past due rent up to 12 months and three months prospective rents for eligible tenants.

As of July 29, the TLAC program has distributed $3.45 million, or 11 percent, of the $31 million allocated for rental and utility assistance to 763 DeKalb households. Since the relaunch, the county has paid out about $460,000 per week in assistance, a news release said.

For more information about TLAC, visit the website here.

See also:

• Georgia Renters Fear Eviction As Federal Moratorium Ends
• Rent Relief Program Applications Reopening In DeKalb
• Frustration Grows As Biden, Congress Allow Eviction Ban To Expire