ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orange County residents struggling to pay their rent may have some relief for the next two months.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Tuesday a new temporary moratorium on evictions.
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The agency says it puts a pause on evictions in counties with “substantial and high levels” of COVID-19 transmission, which includes Orange County.
News 6 spoke to Jeffrey Hussey with the Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida.
“The new CDC order is very detailed. It goes through the stats of how bad the delta variant is, what the vaccination rates are,” Hussey said.
Hussey said about 45 new eviction notices were just filed in the last two days in Orange County and according to the Clerk of Courts, 642 eviction cases were filed in July.
“Number one, if you’re behind in your rent due to COVID and you have not applied for any type of emergency rental assistance, do so today. The sooner the better. There’s a lot of money out there,” he said.
Both the City of Orlando and Orange County offer rental assistance programs in which thousands have already been distributed to residents during the pandemic.
Though the new moratorium will run through Oct. 3, Hussey said renters who are having trouble due to the pandemic should not wait that long to apply.
“The moratorium does not equate rent forgiveness. You still have to pay rent. It’s just excusing you from paying that rent until the COVID situation, pandemic, gets better,” he explained.