President Joe Biden extends eviction and foreclosure moratoriums

JOE BIDEN takes the presidential oath of office on Jan. 20. Biden later signed an executive order extending the eviction and foreclosure moratoriums through March 31. / AP FILE PHOTO/ANDREW HARNIK

PROVIDENCE – In his first day in office, President Joe Biden signed a series of executive orders, including one that extends an existing moratorium on eviction and foreclosures.

According to documents provided by the Biden-Harris transition, the newly inaugurated president will ask the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to immediately extend the existing federal eviction moratorium until at least March 31.

He also will ask the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to extend their foreclosure moratoriums for federally backed mortgages until March 31.

On Jan. 19, the Federal Housing Finance Agency extended a foreclosure moratorium until Feb. 28. That move applies to loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

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Biden, according to the transition notice, will ask for a continuance of that moratorium as well.

What does this mean for Rhode Islanders?

There is no firm number of state residents affected by the existing moratoriums, according to Brenda Clement, executive director of HousingWorks RI at Roger Williams University.

The numbers of evictions and foreclosures in the state have been minimized by flexible rental and mortgage assistance programs, she said. But more assistance will be needed to keep people in their homes in the months ahead “as our state recovers from the economic impacts caused by Covid-19,” she said.

Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.

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