CLARK BARS UPDATE - FEBRUARY 2nd 2021
Clark & Walker, P.C. - Attorneys at Law
Date: February 2, 2021
COVID-19 - PIMA COUNTY - CDC EVICTION MORATORIUM
by: Christopher R. Walker, Esq
This afternoon, the Pima County Board of Supervisors, by a 4-1 vote, decided to adopt a verbal motion expanding the federal CDC eviction moratorium countywide. This decision was made without any stakeholder input, without posting any text or language explaining what the moratorium expansion would entail, and added to the Supervisors’ agenda late over the weekend with barely over 24 hours’ notice.
Even more troubling, the motion, made by Supervisor
Matt Heinz (District 2), expands the CDC moratorium to prohibit “all evictions in Pima County except those for material falsification or for material and irreparable breaches,” as provided in A.R.S. 33-1368(A),
through March 31, 2021. The Board also directed the Pima County Health Department to develop a declaration form that mirrors the CDC tenant attestation, and make said form “easily accessible to the public. The video of today’s meeting may be found
HERE.
We are disturbed by the County’s decision to enact this verbal motion without legal authority and in violation of Governor Ducey’s
Executive Order 2020-36. Through the passage of this motion the County is unfairly exposing residents and rental housing professionals to potentially unsafe and dangerous conditions in which individuals breaching their leases or community regulations may now remain housed without any recourse for the landlord or the other residents of the community. This decision will essentially handcuff the landlord and prohibit the landlord from enforcing various covenants set forth in the lease, many of which the landlord could face liability for failing to enforce.
The Firm is working collaboratively with the AMA to help address this issue and work towards reversing this decision in Pima County and ensure that the rule of law is upheld across the state of Arizona. For now we still lack any details or an effective date. It is unclear if the verbal motion applies to filing of evictions or the physical eviction (serving the writ). While we work through this challenging time we continue to recommend that our clients continue to file eviction as you have done so in the past. If and when there is a development that requires this guidance to be changed we will provide another update on this motion.
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