Sisolak extending Nevada eviction moratorium
The 45-day extension comes amid mounting concern that an estimated 250,000 Nevadans could lose housing
LAS VEGAS – Gov. Steve Sisolak is extending Nevada’s moratorium on evictions through mid-October amid mounting fears over an expected onslaught of landlord-tenant disputes that could swamp the state’s court system and leave thousands of residents without a home.
Sisolak’s office on Monday said the evictions embargo – first announced in March and set to expire on Tuesday – would be extended for 45 days.
The extension will allow the following to happen over the next month and a half:
- Counties can pay out short-term rental assistance to landlords.
- Courts will get more time to implement new residential eviction mediation program.
- The state can make progress on reducing the backlog of unemployment claims.
More:Specter of pent-up evictions, foreclosures haunt Nevada as moratorium set to expire
Related:What you need to know as evictions start again in Nevada
Monday’s announcement may help prevent thousands of residents from becoming homeless during a COVID-caused economic slump that crippled the state’s casino industry and led to a record-shattering spike in unemployment.
Housing advocates, think tank researchers and even judges have spent weeks calling for additional executive action on evictions, especially once it became clear the Silver State would receive just $30 million in federal coronavirus relief funds earmarked for rental assistance.
Nevada has earmarked an extra $10 million in federal relief funds for short-term rental assistance, Sisolak announced at a Monday press conference.
"I am confident that in the next 45 days all of the various agencies and organizations will work together as fast as possible to make sure that these programs are up and running to help Nevada's renters and landlords continue to navigate these unprecedented times and stay healthy and safe in the midst of this pandemic," Sisolak said.
Hours ahead of Sisolak’s announcement, the Nevada Treasurer’s office confirmed it was fast running out of relief funds and would have to put an immediate pause on new rental assistance requests received in Southern Nevada. More than 25,000 applications remain in the program’s pipeline, according to a spokesman for the Treasurer’s office.
Judges, too, have sought relief from an estimated 145,000 eviction filings expected to flood the court system on Sept. 1.
Legislation signed by Sisolak on Aug. 7 will allow jurists to put off those cases while courts stand up a new, mediation-based system meant to limit the number of rent disputes destined for a courtroom. That program could be up and running as soon as October.
The Guinn Center, a Las Vegas-based research group, and the COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project in Denver estimated almost 250,000 people in Clark County – or more than 10% of its population – are at risk of eviction in September.
Some of the same researchers said Nevada would need at least $260 million to keep up with pent-up demand for rental assistance. The National Low Income Housing Coalition suggests that number is closer to $800 million.
The left-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities found one in five tenants fell behind on their rent last month, identifying some 166,000 Nevadans who either deferred or didn’t pay July’s rent on time.
