In March of 2020 the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Securities Act (“CARES Act”) was signed into law. The moratorium thereunder originally had a sunset date of July 25, 2020. Congress chose not to extend this deadline, and when the CDC tried to do so by administrative order, the Supreme Court of the United States invalidated it. See Alabama Association of Realtors v. Department of Health and Human Services, 21A23 (Aug. 26, 2021). However, certain portions of the CARES Act did not include any such sunset dates and will continue to impact Nebraska and Iowa landlord until Congress legislatively puts an end to them.

Nebraska and Iowa Landlords should be advised that their normal pre-pandemic practices for recovery of unpaid rents and evictions based upon the same may now be affected by provisions of the CARES Act found in section 4024. If a tenant resides within any of the “covered property” defined under subsection 4024(2), then a landlord will need to provide a thirty (30) day notice before any writ of restitution can be executed and the tenant evicted. “[C]overed property” [under the CARES Act] means any property that—

(A) participates in—

(i) a covered housing program (as defined in section 41411(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12 12491(a))); or

(ii) the rural housing voucher program under section 542 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490r); or

(B) has a—

(i) Federally backed mortgage loan; or

(ii) Federally backed multifamily mortgage loan.

See Public Law No. 116-136, § 4024(2). Even though it does not affect every landlord and tenant situation, this definition is broad enough to implicate a great number of them.

However, courts across Nebraska and Iowa have interpreted the application of these rules differently when “covered property” is implicated. Some allow for normal notices and cure periods for non-payment provided for by state statute (3 days in Iowa and 7 days in Nebraska; see Iowa Code Ann §562A.27; see also Neb.Rev.Stat. §76-1431), but then delay the issuance of a writ of restitution until thirty (30) days from the original notice, while others require actual service of a thirty (30) day notice for a landlord to avoid having to start the entire process over again. Therefore, it is important that Nebraska and Iowa Landlords obtain proper advice before instituting these actions in this current landscape in to avoid confusion, delay or added expense.