Trouble paying rent? What to know as ban on evictions lifts

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The first of the month means rent is due, and for those who have trouble paying due to the coronavirus pandemic, a ban on evictions is now over. So, what are your options?

Ashley Daniels is an organizer for New Hanover For All. The political organization has shifted its focus from canvassing and endorsing to helping renters severely impacted by COVID-19.

“Some people had lost wages, and some people spent their savings to pay rent,” Daniels said. “There’s not a person that deserves to be homeless in a pandemic.”

Two different moratoriums on evictions in the court system have now expired, along with an order banning sheriff’s offices from carrying out evictions.

Daniels says she believes elected officials should take action to protect those renters.

“If our sheriff said that this was a public safety issue and I wanted to wait, that could happen,” she said. “If our county wanted to close the courthouse because they were concerned about public health in a global pandemic and didn’t want people coming in and out of the courthouse, that could happen.”

Daniels says if you do find yourself going to court for an eviction, there are resources you can use. First, any landlord that gets federal funding is prohibited from conducting evictions before July 24.

“There are a huge amount of landlords in Wilmington that have received that federal funding,” Daniels said.

Second, an order from Governor Roy Cooper mandated that landlords give tenants six months to pay rent due between May 30 and June 20.

“Tenants who had trouble paying during that time frame have until December 2020 to work through a payment plan with a landlord,” she said.

We reached out to New Hanover County, the City of Wilmington, and the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office for comment and have not yet heard back.

Click here for the New Hanover for All Facebook group.

Click here for a group formed by New Hanover for All specifically to help renters.

Click here for a list of New Hanover County landlords legally prohibited from evicting until July 24.

Click here to view Gov. Cooper’s order regarding rent payments from May 30 to June 20.