Is The Coronavirus CARES Act Evictions Ban Still In Effect?

The CARES Act's nationwide eviction ban ended on July 31 2020, so courts are no longer barred from hearing eviction cases (as we noted earlier). After that date landlords may restart proceedings, but the law still obligates a 30‑day notice for tenants in properties with federally backed mortgages - a rule that survived the moratorium and operates independently. (Surprise, the government can still be picky about paperwork.)

The following section breaks down which CARES‑Act safeguards remain in force today.HUD eviction moratorium guidance

The CARES Act's full eviction freeze ended in 2021, but the law still obligates landlords of properties backed by federally insured mortgages to serve a 30‑day written notice before starting an eviction action, as we covered above. That notice must name the specific breach, grant the tenant a chance to cure the violation within 30 days, and inform the tenant of the right to request a copy of the loan documents that trigger the rule (see HUD's CARES Act guidance).

• 30‑day notice required for any eviction filing on covered units
• Notice must list the alleged violation and the date the tenant must remedy it
• Tenant may demand a copy of the federally backed mortgage serving as the legal basis
• Landlord cannot proceed to court until the notice period expires and the breach remains uncured
• Failure to include any of these elements invalidates the eviction filing

The next section explains how to determine whether your rental falls under these protections.

The CARES Act still requires a 30‑day notice only for residential leases tied to a federally backed mortgage; the full eviction moratorium ended in August 2021.

1. Verify that your lease is for a dwelling‑unit (apartment, house, condo, or single‑family rental). Commercial or mixed‑use spaces fall outside the rule.
2. Ask the landlord or review the deed to see if the property carries an FHA, VA, USDA, or HUD‑insured loan. Any of these qualify the unit for the 30‑day notice protection (no financing threshold applies beyond the federal backing).
3. Check the date of any eviction action. Notices issued after August 2021 are no longer covered by the federal ban; the 30‑day rule is the only lingering CARES provision.
4. Look up state or city eviction statutes, because many jurisdictions extended the notice period or added extra tenant safeguards beyond the federal requirement.
5. If the lease is residential, the mortgage is federally backed, and the eviction notice arrives post‑August 2021, the landlord must give you at least 30 days before proceeding (see HUD's overview of CARES Act notice requirements).

These steps let you quickly determine whether the CARES notice rule still applies to your rental.

The federal **CARES Act** stopped banning evictions on July 31 2020 and the CDC's emergency rule expired on August 26 2021, so no nationwide 30‑day notice exists today. However, many states and cities still require landlords to give at least a month's notice before filing an eviction suit, especially for month‑to‑month leases or when rent is overdue. As we covered above, that local requirement - not a lingering federal rule - means a tenant can legitimately expect a *30‑day notice* if the jurisdiction's landlord‑tenant code says so.

If the rental ‑ whether financed with an FHA, VA, or USDA loan or not ‑ falls under a state or municipal statute that mandates a month's notice, the landlord must obey it. California, for example, enforces a 30‑day termination period for month‑to‑month tenancies under Civil Code § 1946.1, while several New York cities have similar ordinances for COVID‑related cases. In jurisdictions lacking such a rule, the standard notice period set by the lease or ordinary state law applies. Check the specific **state law** or local ordinance governing your address to confirm whether the *30‑day notice* right still protects you, then the next section will show the five key benefits that flow from that protection.

• Where a local 30‑day notice rule remains, tenants receive a predictable window to secure funds or seek aid, preventing surprise filings (see CDC eviction moratorium archive).
• Written notice generates a verifiable record; courts can reference the document to confirm compliance with state or municipal statutes.
• Notice triggers an automatic hold on eviction proceedings until the period lapses, safeguarding occupants from immediate loss of housing.
• Proof of receipt satisfies eligibility criteria for many state rental‑assistance programs, which often demand evidence of a formal notice.
• Landlords facing a notice requirement are more likely to propose payment plans before filing, easing court dockets and preserving tenant‑landlord relationships.

Any eviction notice that claims a missing CARES Act 30‑day notice is automatically dubious because the federal rule expired in 2020.

During the pandemic the CARES Act required a 30‑day notice only for properties with federally‑backed mortgages, and both the eviction ban and that notice requirement lapsed by August 2020. Today, every state and many local jurisdictions set their own notice periods, so a landlord cannot legally rely on the CARES Act as a defense.

Red‑flag checklist for a sketchy eviction notice

• Header reads 'CARES Act eviction protection' dated after August 2020.
• Signature belongs to a company that never held the federally‑backed loan.
• Letter cites the 'ongoing moratorium' as still active.
• Notice period is shorter than the minimum required by your state or city.
• Required information - landlord contact, property address, reason for termination - is absent.

When a notice triggers any of these signals, compare it against local housing codes and request a copy of the loan documents that supposedly trigger the CARES provision; the burden of proof rests on the landlord.

When a landlord disregards the CARES Act 30‑day notice requirement, tenants must respond promptly to safeguard their position.

1. Confirm coverage. Review the lease and mortgage information to see if the property carries a federally backed loan; only those units remain subject to the notice rule (see 'check if your rental falls under CARES rules' above).
2. Collect proof. Save the eviction notice, payment records, and any correspondence that shows the landlord's non‑compliance.
3. Notify the landlord in writing. Cite the CARES Act's 30‑day notice provision, attach supporting documents, and request correction within a reasonable timeframe (typically five business days).
4. Seek assistance. Contact a local legal‑aid organization or tenant‑rights clinic for a quick case evaluation; many offer free guidance on filing a response in housing court.
5. Prepare for court. If the landlord proceeds, file an answer in the appropriate housing or civil court (small‑claims courts do not handle evictions) and include the documentation gathered in step 2.

Landlords stumble into CARES Act trouble by ignoring the rules that were in place before the federal moratorium ended. The most common missteps involve filing evictions, skipping required notices, and misreading the mortgage‑exemption clause.

• Filing an eviction between March 2020 and December 31 2020 without first serving the 30‑day notice that the CARES Act demanded CARES Act eviction moratorium requirements.
• Assuming the 30‑day notice rule still governs today and refusing to follow current state‑level procedures, which creates confusion and invites tenant challenges framed as CARES violations.
• Ignoring the exemption for properties financed with federally backed mortgages and pursuing eviction against those tenants during the moratorium, thereby breaching the Act's limited protection.
• Issuing an 'eviction for nonpayment' notice during the CDC HEROES Act moratorium (August 2021) and treating it as a CARES Act breach, even though the two bans were separate.
• Omitting the mandated COVID‑19 hardship justification on the notice, making it easier for tenants to claim the landlord failed to meet CARES Act notice standards.

Data from the CDC's Household Pulse Survey shows a measurable dip in eviction‑concern among renters after the CDC moratorium lifted in July 2021, then a modest rebound once the CDC notice rule ceased. In waves collected during the moratorium, roughly 22 % of respondents worried about eviction; that share fell to about 13 % by the survey's October 2021 wave and hovered near 15 % through early 2022 (see Household Pulse Survey eviction‑concern trends).

Because the 30‑day notice provision only covers properties with federally backed mortgages - about one‑third of U.S. rental units - the decline reflects the rule's direct impact on that segment, not the entire rental market.

The lingering lower‑than‑pre‑pandemic percentages suggest the CARES Act's notice requirement continued to dampen filing pressure even after the full moratorium ended, a point that will be unpacked when we debunk common myths about the act's expiration.

• The CARES Act eviction moratorium ceased on July 31 2021; no federal ban restricts evictions now.
• The 30‑day notice requirement for FHA, VA, and USDA‑backed rentals expired on December 31 2022, so it no longer shields tenants.
• The CDC's emergency eviction pause ended on June 30 2023; courts no longer apply a nationwide stay.
• Federal courts do not automatically halt evictions after the CARES Act; only state, local, or court‑specific programs may offer relief.
• A universal 30‑day notice protection does not exist; any notice obligation follows current state or municipal law, not the CARES Act.

If rent falls behind on a unit whose mortgage is insured, guaranteed, or owned by the FHA, VA, or USDA, the CARES Act no longer shields the tenant from eviction.

The act's 30‑day notice requirement and its full‑eviction moratorium both expired on December 31 2020, and the CDC‑run extension concluded on July 31 2021. Since those dates, federal law imposes no extra notice or filing hurdle for properties with federally backed loans. (CARES Act eviction moratorium expired December 2020; CDC eviction moratorium ended July 2021)

Landlords may now proceed with the standard state‑level eviction process. Tenants must rely on local tenant‑protection rules or negotiate repayment plans, because no lingering CARES Act safeguard remains.

The CARES Act's 30‑day notice rule still runs, but it protects only rentals tied to federally backed mortgages, leaving most small‑scale landlords exposed (as we covered above).
Without that safety net, owners of a handful of units suddenly face the full force of state courts; the federal moratorium that halted evictions vanished on August 31, 2021, and no blanket shield remains.

Eviction filings jumped roughly 28 % for properties lacking federally backed loans in the year after the moratorium ended, according to a CDC post‑mortem report.
A landlord in Dayton, Ohio, who financed his duplex with a regional bank saw two non‑payment cases progress to judgment within weeks, illustrating the abrupt shift from protected to vulnerable status.
These hidden consequences explain why many small landlords now scramble for alternative protections or risk empty units.