evictions

A woman told a Florida Senate committee about squatters who refused to leave a rental property she was trying to sell. She says they caused nearly $40,000 in damage.

A major Florida real-estate group is challenging a federal moratorium on evicting renters during the COVID-19 pandemic. The group Florida Realtors filed a lawsuit in federal court in Tampa.

Leon County officials say help is needed to keep residents in their homes. A federal moratorium on evictions ends in January. But some residents are already being kicked out of their homes after they lost the protection of a state eviction moratorium back in October.

Eviction filings during the pandemic could have long term impacts on renters. Stephanie Johnson is the managing attorney with Legal Services of North Florida. She says the filing alone could prevent a person from being able to rent in the future.

Thousands of Americans are still out of work and a federal eviction moratorium expires at the end of the year. Florida Apartment Association says some landlords are trying to keep people in their homes.

The City of Tallahassee is trying to work out how it can help citizens that may soon lose their home due to unemployment caused by COVID-19. Currently, there are more than 570 evictions pending in Leon County. That number is expected to rise once a federal eviction freeze comes to an end.

More than 570 eviction cases in Leon County are open. Some of those are residents who have qualified for a federal moratorium on evictions. It essentially paused those cases while many people found themselves out of work and struggling to pay rent during the coronavirus pandemic. But that moratorium expires at the end of this month.

Pointing to a move by the federal government to halt evictions, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday let expire an executive order aimed at limiting evictions and foreclosures.

Floridians will not have to worry about being evicted for failure to pay their rent or mortgage until July 1. Governor Ron DeSantis has extended a moratorium on mortgage foreclosure and evictions. However, some believe the extension is not enough.

Democratic Florida lawmakers say a Florida Supreme Court order suspending evictions doesn’t go far enough. The order stops law enforcement from serving…