CDC extends COVID-related eviction moratorium a month. Will North Carolina follow suit?

Tenants at risk of displacement due to the COVID-19 pandemic are protected from eviction for one more month, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended its nationwide moratorium Thursday until July 31.

CDC says it will be the last extension.

The order was set to expire on Wednesday.

This is the fourth extension of the moratorium, which began in September of last year to help curb the spread of COVID-19 among evicted and displaced people.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a historic threat to the nation’s public health. Keeping people in their homes and out of crowded or congregate settings — like homeless shelters — by preventing evictions is a key step in helping to stop the spread of COVID-19,” the CDC said in extending the order.

But it’s intended to be the last extension as rental assistance is widely available.

Housing advocates have said tenants need more time for the rental aid to be allocated.

North Carolina’s rent assistance program restarted in May with over $500 million in coronavirus stimulus funding.

Rental assistance programs on the county level in Wake and Durham are accepting applications as well.

Over 180,000 households in North Carolina are behind on rent, with an average household debt of $2,700, according to analysis of May’s U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey from National Equity Atlas, which studies social equity among states and regions.

Gov. Roy Cooper’s statewide eviction moratorium, which has been in line with CDC’s moratorium, is still set to expire on June 30.

But each time the CDC has extended its order, Cooper has followed suit with the statewide order.

This is a breaking news story. Return later for updates.

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