Real estate industry spends over $100 million lobbying against eviction moratorium
Democrats this week successfully pressured the administration to roll out another temporary moratorium
The real estate industry spent over $100 million lobbying Congress during the coronavirus pandemic against eviction moratoriums.
The country’s largest real estate industry group, the National Association of Realtors (NAR), spent more than $84 million last year challenging the ban that prevented evictions nationwide, first reported Open Secrets this week.
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The NAR spent another $18 million in 2021 alone challenging the very policy that the Biden administration extended earlier this week.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) implemented an additional eviction freeze following fierce backlash from progressives on the Hill who called on the administration to step in after the previous ban expired on July 31.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HD | THE HOME DEPOT INC. | 410.45 | +10.45 | +2.61% |
| SHW | THE SHERWIN-WILLIAMS CO. | 383.32 | +11.66 | +3.14% |
| LEN | LENNAR CORP. | 168.07 | -0.16 | -0.10% |
Led by Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., who slept on the steps of the Capitol for several nights in protest of the policy lapse, Democrats successfully pressured the administration to roll out another temporary moratorium.
The new eviction ban is not a blanket policy but covers 90 percent of Americans in "high transmission" areas. The latest moratorium is set to expire in October.
Fox News could not immediately reach the NAR for comment.
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The group was also involved in two lawsuits with the Alabama and the Georgia Associations of Realtors against the Trump administration in an attempt to overturn the eviction policy.
The Alabama suit made its way to the Supreme Court where it ruled 5-4 that the moratorium would stay enacted through the end of July.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who voted for the eviction ban to remain, said he did so "because those few weeks will allow for additional and more orderly distribution of the congressionally appropriated rental assistance funds."
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Biden acknowledged earlier this week the narrow Supreme Court ruling could spell legal trouble for the administration.
The Alabama Association of Realtors have already launched a suit in federal court calling the moratorium "nakedly political" and "unlawful."