Press "Enter" to skip to content

Clerk of Court Announces 60-Day Extension on Eviction Moratorium

STATEMENT FROM FIRST CITY CLERK OF COURT AUSTIN BADON, AUGUST 3, 2021

NEW ORLEANS — TO CITIZENS OF NEW ORLEANS REGARDING PENDING 60-DAY EXTENSION OF EVICTION MORATORIUM: As of this evening, news reports out of Washington D.C. indicate the Biden Administration is providing a 60-day extension of the eviction moratorium for areas with high degrees of COVID infections and potential rates of evictions.

As the First City Clerk of Court, I am reporting more than 400 eviction cases before my office as of close of business today. We have extended our daily office hours to accommodate the large volume of notices being received by my staff from landlords and creditors since the weekend, when the original 11-month federal moratorium ended.

This 60-day reprieve is exactly that: An opportunity for tenants and landlords to work out a plan of action as the millions of dollars coming to the City of New Orleans from the State of Louisiana, under the federal CARES Act, get quickly distributed.

If news reports are accurate, other parishes did not experience the volume of evictions overwhelming my office. Our Congressional delegation has been reporting that Louisiana has more adults behind on their rent payments and mortgages than any other state in the nation, and my office provides evidence of that.

As this virus ravages our community once again, I wish to thank our Congressional leaders in working with President Joseph Biden to quickly address this urgent problem. I am again advising landlords, renters and homeowners in need to try to be patient, to talk to each other to allow these funds to be distributed so that large, past-due debts can be paid and landowners made whole. Without these funds through the rental aid program, some landlords may never see the money they are rightly owed.

Once an eviction is received by my office, I am required by law to post an eviction notice in 24 hours. While such cases may not go to court until mid-October, especially with the courts experiencing renewed operational delays due to the recent COVID surge, many families will still face the stress of an impending crisis the moratorium and subsequent relief funds were meant to prevent.

Therefore, this 60-day extension gives all time to work together and avoid a true crisis for our families in Orleans Parish.

INFO: Contact Ambrose Pratt, Chief Deputy, First City Clerk of Court’s Office (504) 258-9090.

###

Mission News Theme by Compete Themes.