CDC: Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions to Prevent the Further Spread of COVID-19

Under this Order from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a landlord, owner of a residential property, or other person with a legal right to pursue eviction or possessory action, shall not evict any covered person from any residential property in any jurisdiction to which this Order applies during the effective period of the Order.

This Order does not apply in any State, local, territorial, or tribal area with a moratorium on residential evictions that provides the same or greater level of public-health protection than the requirements listed in this Order. The order applies in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia.

In accordance with 42 U.S.C. 264(e), this Order does not preclude State, local, territorial, and tribal authorities from imposing additional requirements that provide greater public-health protection and are more restrictive than the requirements in this Order.

This Order is a temporary eviction moratorium to prevent the further spread of COVID–19. This Order does not relieve any individual of any obligation to pay rent, make a housing payment, or comply with any other obligation that the individual may have under a tenancy, lease, or similar contract.

Nothing in this Order precludes the charging or collecting of fees, penalties, or interest as a result of the failure to pay rent or other housing payment on a timely basis, under the terms of any applicable contract.

Nothing in this Order precludes evictions based on a tenant, lessee, or resident:

(1) engaging in criminal activity while on the premises;
(2) threatening the health or safety of other residents;
(3) damaging or posing an immediate and significant risk of damage to property;
(4) violating any applicable building code, health ordinance, or similar regulation relating to health and safety; or
(5) violating any other contractual obligation, other than the timely payment of rent or similar housing-related payment (including non-payment or late payment of fees, penalties, or interest).

This Order is effective September 4, 2020 through December 31, 2020.

To invoke the CDC’s order, persons must provide an executed copy of the Declaration form (or a similar declaration under penalty of perjury) to their landlord, owner of the residential property where they live, or other person who has a right to have them evicted or removed from where they live. Each adult listed on the lease, rental agreement, or housing contract should likewise complete and provide a declaration.

Unless the CDC order is extended, changed, or ended, the order prevents these persons from being evicted or removed from where they are living through December 31, 2020. These persons are still required to pay rent and follow all the other terms of their lease and rules of the place where they live. These persons may also still be evicted for reasons other than not paying rent or making a housing payment.

For more information on the order and a copy of the declaration form, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-eviction-declaration.html.

Although not part of the CDC Order, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs produces a Landlord/Tenant Handbook that provides useful information about landlord/tenant law in the state. The handbook is available at www.accgov.com/landlord.

Coronavirus COVID-19 Update - Courts & Courthouse

Supreme Court of Georgia: Grand Jury Proceedings to Resume in Georgia

Grand jury proceedings may resume under an order signed on September 10 by Chief Justice Harold D. Melton of the Supreme Court of Georgia. The order extends until Oct. 10 the Statewide Judicial Emergency Chief Justice Melton first declared on March 14, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the sixth time it has been extended for 30 days as state law allows.

Under the order, the chief judge of each superior court is authorized to resume grand jury proceedings “if doing so can be done safely and in compliance with public health guidance based on local conditions.”

In exercising his or her discretion to resume grand jury proceedings, the chief judge must consult with the local district attorney and follow guidelines developed by the Judicial COVID-19 Task Force for conducting safe grand jury proceedings. Jury trials and most grand jury proceedings have been prohibited in Georgia since March.

With today’s order, jury trials remain suspended in Georgia. However, to prepare for their resumption, the order directs the chief judge of each superior court to convene for each county in his or her judicial circuit a local committee made up of judicial system participants to develop detailed guidelines for safely resuming jury trials.

Each committee is directed to use the safe jury trial guidelines developed by the Judicial COVID-19 Task Force – a group of mostly judges and lawyers appointed by Chief Justice Melton in May to help courts prepare to restore grand jury proceedings and jury trials. The September 10 order states that the goal is to authorize the resumption of jury trials in the next 30-day extension order, which will be issued around Oct. 10.

However, due to the time required to summon potential jurors for service, the order notes that grand jury hearings and jury trials likely will not begin until a month or longer after they are authorized.

It also should be recognized that there are substantial backlogs of unindicted cases, and due to ongoing public health precautions, these proceedings will not occur at the scale or with the speed they occurred before the pandemic,” the emergency order states. “Thus, while our justice system must resume moving cases to indictment and trial as rapidly as can be done safely, statutory deadlines based on indictments and jury trials will remain suspended and tolled.”

Guidance for safely conducting in-person grand jury proceedings and guidance for local committees on resuming jury trials are among the documents included in the order extending the Statewide Judicial Emergency.

Read the Sixth Order Extending Declaration of Statewide Judicial Emergency

4,314 Positive Cases Confirmed in Athens-Clarke County, 36 Deaths

The Georgia Department of Public Health Daily Status Report (https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report) confirms 4,314 positive cases of COVID-19 and 36 deaths reported in Athens-Clarke County as of 2:50 p.m. on September 11.

ACCGov updates the graphic with case information on it most Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for social media. The graphic includes the increase in positive cases since the last update and the number of deaths.

The September 11 update shows an increase of 205 positive cases and 1 death since Wednesday, September 9.

These are cumulative cases total since February 25, 2020. For reference, cumulative numbers from the beginning of each month:

September 1 - 3,082
August 1 - 1,694
July 1 - 574
June 1 - 293
May 1 - 155
April 1 - 54
March 1 - 4

The Daily Status Report is now updated once daily at 3:00 p.m. to allow time to process and validate laboratory and case reports. If you view the data, please be sure to check the area showing the definitions of the information presented. Some, such as "hospitalizations," have different meanings than what may be expected.

Frequency of Updates

This coronavirus email / text update is sent once to twice a week during normal weeks, with other updates as necessary with important information.

Questions can still be directed to www.accgov.com/coronavirus, which will be updated regularly, the info line at 706-613-3333, or coronavirus@accgov.com.