What you should know about the CARES Act

The following information is from the flyer, "What You Should Know About the CARES Act," prepared by Atlanta Legal Aid.

About 1 in 4 households are protected by the Federal CARES Act

The Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), provides rental protections for tenants living in properties that accept federal subsidy or are subject to a federally-backed mortgage. This includes many multifamily and some single-family residential properties.

If you are covered, your landlord cannot evict you before August 25, 2020.

The CARES act says that "covered properties" cannot charge late fees or file evictions for nonpayment of rent until July 25, 2020, and then must give a 30-day notice before doing so. This means, practically, that no CARES Act evictions can be filed before August 25, 2020.

If you live in a covered property, you have a defense to any eviction for nonpayment filed before August 25, 2020

If you live in a covered property and your landlord files an eviction for nonpayment of rent before August 25, 2020, you should state in your answer that you live in a CARES Act covered property and ask the court to make the landlord prove they are not covered by the law.

It can be hard to find out if you are in a covered property

Although there are online lookup tools available, they are not complete and some properties that are covered by the CARES act may not be listed. If you are not sure or do not know if your property is covered by the CARES Act, state in your eviction answer that you believe you are covered, and contact Atlanta Legal Aid or another lawyer as soon as possible for more information.

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