A Superior Court judge in Washington, D.C., yesterday struck down a ban on landlords filing new eviction cases as unconstitutional, saying that property owners are entitled to go to court to regain possession of what is theirs. The ruling is not expected to lead to an influx of new eviction cases, because tenants are still protected by other provisions of a law that was put into place in the District. It will be interesting to see whether this court ruling has any impact on another measure that the D.C. Council put into place as a result of the coronavirus pandemic — one that bars collectors from contacting individuals with unpaid debts, among other provisions.
The moratorium on filing eviction notices denies “property owners their day in court for an extended and indefinite period,” wrote Judge Anthony Epstein in his 40-page ruling. “The District therefore has a demanding burden to demonstrate a reasonable fit and proportionality between the legislature’s goals and the means it chose to achieve these goals. Because the District has not carried its burden, the filing moratorium does not pass constitutional muster.”
The D.C. Council barred landlords from filing eviction notices and from actually evicting them. That provision remains in place, but the ruling will allow landlords to begin to file eviction notices, which will require a hearing to be scheduled “as soon as it reasonably can,” according to Judge Epstein. At the hearing, property owners will have to try to prove their case and tenants will be allowed to “raise any defense or seek any relief to which they are entitled,” according to the ruling.
The state of emergency in Washington, D.C., was scheduled to be lifted on December 31, but the Council voted this week to give the Mayor the authority to extend it until March 31, 2021.
