Gov. Ron DeSantis will allow Florida’s moratorium on evictions and foreclosures to expire Oct. 1 in favor of a federal prohibition issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that expires Dec. 31.
In a memorandum released Sept. 30, a DeSantis spokesperson said executive order 20-211 was not renewed “to avoid any confusion over whether the CDC’s evictions Order should apply in a particular circumstance.”
The CDC put in place a temporary nationwide ban on residential evictions Sept. 4 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
It prohibits a landlord or owner of residential property from pursuing eviction if a tenant meets CDC criteria. Tenants must provide their landlord with a declaration form to avoid eviction.
The federal order does not give protection against home mortgage foreclosures.
The state’s order allowed property owners to initiate a single-family mortgage foreclosure or eviction process in any situation allowed under existing Florida statutes but halted the final action of certain foreclosures and evictions.
The federal declaration form and criteria can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/declaration-form.pdf
Local public meetings
DeSantis also issued an executive order Sept. 30 that gives local governments 30 days to return to in-person public meetings.
The move tells elected and government-appointed groups like the Jacksonville City Council and city independent authorities to start meeting in-person by Nov. 1.
Local governments will be able continue broadcasting their meetings live on television and online, a standard practice for many cities and counties.
DeSantis allowed local governments through a March 20 executive order to convene meetings and make accommodations for public participation virtually to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The rate of reported coronavirus cases in Florida has been declining in recent weeks, despite an overall 13% increase over the last 14 days nationwide, according to The New York Times tracker.