Understanding the Eviction Moratorium Legacy: What Landlords Need to Know in 2025

By PropsManager Team · Legal & Compliance · Aug 01, 2025

The CDC eviction moratorium ended in August 2021. That was four years ago. And yet, if you're a landlord, you're still dealing with its fallout every single day—whether you realize it or not.

I'm not being dramatic. The moratorium didn't just pause evictions for 15 months. It fundamentally rewired how courts handle landlord-tenant disputes, how state legislatures think about renter protections, and how landlords like us approach risk management. Some of those changes were temporary. Most weren't.

If you bought your first rental property after 2021 and you've never personally dealt with a non-paying tenant you couldn't remove, consider yourself lucky. But you still need to understand this stuff, because the policies born out of that era are now permanent fixtures in dozens of jurisdictions across the country.

Let's break down what actually changed, what it means for your bottom line, and how to adapt.

A Quick Refresher: What the Moratorium Actually Did

The CDC issued its first eviction moratorium in September 2020. It was extended multiple times before the Supreme Court struck it down on August 26, 2021. During that roughly 11-month federal moratorium (plus earlier CARES Act protections dating back to March 2020), landlords were prohibited from evicting tenants who declared financial hardship due to COVID-19.

Here's what that looked like in practice:

• Approximately 8.4 million renter households fell behind on rent at the moratorium's peak, according to the Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey.
• The total unpaid rent accumulated during the moratorium period was estimated at $50-70 billion nationally.
• Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) programs distributed over $46 billion in federal funds—but distribution was painfully slow and uneven across states.
• Many landlords—especially smaller operators with 1-4 units—received zero ERA assistance despite having tenants who qualified.

For the average mom-and-pop landlord carrying a $1,800/month mortgage on a rental property, going 12+ months without rent meant absorbing $21,600+ in losses. Some landlords lost their properties entirely.

That's the backdrop. Now let's talk about what it left behind.

The Court Backlog: Still a Nightmare in Many Jurisdictions

Here's something that doesn't get enough attention: when the moratorium lifted, courts didn't suddenly catch up overnight. Not even close.

Before COVID, a straightforward non-payment eviction in most states took 30-45 days from notice to writ of possession. File the paperwork, get a court date within two weeks, show up, get a judgment, schedule the lockout. Clean and efficient? Not exactly fun, but predictable.

Now? In many major metro areas, you're looking at 3-6 months minimum for the same process. In places like New York City, Cook County (Chicago), and Los Angeles County, timelines can stretch to 8-12 months or longer.

Why the Backlog Persists

Several factors are keeping courts clogged:

• The sheer volume of deferred cases. When the moratorium lifted, millions of pending evictions flooded courts simultaneously. Many jurisdictions are still processing that wave.
• Staffing shortages. Courts lost clerks, judges retired, and budgets were cut during the pandemic. They haven't fully recovered.
• New procedural requirements. Many jurisdictions added mandatory mediation, diversion programs, and additional notice requirements that extend timelines.
• Right to Counsel programs. More on this below, but when tenants get free lawyers, cases take longer. Period.

What does this mean for your wallet? If a tenant stops paying rent in January, you might not regain possession of the unit until July or August. At $1,500/month, that's $9,000-$10,500 in lost rent—plus legal fees averaging $3,500-$7,000 depending on your market.

This is why screening has gotten so much more important. You simply cannot afford to put the wrong tenant in a unit when removal takes the better part of a year.

Permanent Law Changes Born from the Moratorium

This is the big one. The moratorium itself was temporary, but it gave state and local lawmakers the political cover and momentum to pass sweeping tenant protection laws that are very much permanent.

Just Cause Eviction Requirements

Before the pandemic, most states allowed landlords to decline to renew a lease for any legal reason (or no reason at all) when the lease term expired. That's changing fast.

States and cities that have enacted "just cause" eviction laws since 2020 include:

• California (statewide, AB 1482)
• Oregon (statewide, SB 608)
• Washington State (statewide, SB 5600)
• New Jersey has had just cause for decades, but enforcement tightened
• Minneapolis, MN
• Philadelphia, PA
• Baltimore, MD (passed 2024)
• Multiple cities in Colorado under enabling state legislation

Under just cause, you can only evict or non-renew for specific enumerated reasons: non-payment, lease violations, owner move-in, major renovation, etc. "I just don't want to renew this tenant" is no longer an option.

Right to Counsel Programs

One of the moratorium's most significant legacies is the explosion of Right to Counsel (RTC) programs—taxpayer-funded legal representation for tenants facing eviction.

Before 2020, only New York City had a full RTC program. As of mid-2025, at least 18 cities and 3 states have enacted some form of RTC, including:

• Connecticut (statewide)
• Washington State (statewide)
• Maryland (statewide)
• Cleveland, OH
• Denver, CO
• San Francisco, CA
• Kansas City, MO
• Louisville, KY

When tenants have attorneys and landlords don't, the dynamics shift considerably. Cases take longer, settlements become more common, and landlords often end up paying "cash for keys" amounts of $2,000-$10,000 just to get a non-paying tenant to leave voluntarily—because it's cheaper and faster than litigating.

Extended Notice Periods and Rent Increase Caps

Many jurisdictions have also lengthened the notice periods landlords must provide before raising rent or terminating a tenancy:

Some of these changes seem minor until they compound. An extra 30 days of notice here, a 14-day cure period there, mandatory mediation adding another 3 weeks—suddenly your eviction timeline doubled before you even stepped into a courtroom.

How Landlords Have Adapted: The Risk Management Shift

Smart landlords didn't just sit around waiting for the legal landscape to settle. They adapted. Here's how the industry has changed its approach to risk management since the moratorium.

Tighter Screening Standards

The average credit score requirement for rental approval has increased significantly since 2020. According to TransUnion rental screening data, the median credit score threshold rose from 620 to 670 between 2019 and 2024. Many landlords in competitive markets now require 700+.

Income requirements have shifted too. The old standard was 3x monthly rent in gross income. Increasingly, landlords are asking for 3.5x or even 4x—especially in jurisdictions where eviction is difficult.

This isn't about being exclusionary. It's about math. When removing a bad tenant costs $15,000-$25,000 in lost rent and legal fees, you screen harder upfront. Every experienced landlord I know has gotten more conservative, not less.

Using a platform like PropsManager to run comprehensive tenant screening—including credit checks, employment verification, rental history, and background checks—isn't optional anymore. It's survival. PropsManager's integrated screening tools let you evaluate applicants against consistent, documented criteria, which also helps you stay on the right side of fair housing laws.

Larger Security Deposits (Where Legal)

In states that don't cap security deposits, landlords have pushed deposits higher. It's common now to see deposits of 1.5x-2x monthly rent in states like Texas, Florida, and Georgia.

However, be aware that some states have moved in the opposite direction. California capped deposits at one month's rent (effective July 2024), regardless of whether the unit is furnished. Maryland, New York, and several other states have similar caps.

Better Lease Language

Post-moratorium leases look different than pre-pandemic ones. Savvy landlords have added:

• Pandemic/emergency clauses addressing rent obligations during government-declared emergencies
• Payment plan provisions that spell out exactly how deferred rent will be repaid
• Compliance certification requirements forcing tenants to attest to the accuracy of their hardship claims
• Attorney's fees provisions (where enforceable) to discourage frivolous defenses

If you haven't updated your lease template since 2019, you're overdue. Way overdue. Check out our guide on writing iron-clad lease addendums for specific language recommendations.

Diversifying Payment Acceptance

The moratorium also accelerated the shift away from paper checks and toward digital rent collection. When you couldn't meet tenants in person and courts were closed, landlords who already had online payment systems fared much better.

Today, automating rent collection through platforms like PropsManager isn't just convenient—it creates an automatic paper trail, sends payment reminders, and generates the documentation you'll need if things ever go sideways. Visit our pricing page to see how affordable this peace of mind can be.

The Rental Assistance Infrastructure: A Lasting Change

One underappreciated legacy of the moratorium era is the emergency rental assistance infrastructure that was built from scratch during the pandemic. Before 2020, if a tenant couldn't pay rent, the options were basically: work it out between yourselves, or go to court.

Now, most major cities and many states have standing rental assistance programs. They're smaller than the $46 billion ERA program, but they exist. HUD's Emergency Housing Voucher program, state-level assistance funds, and nonprofit-run programs mean there's often a third option.

As a landlord, knowing your local rental assistance programs is genuinely useful. If a good tenant hits a rough patch, connecting them to assistance can save the tenancy—and save you $15,000+ in turnover, vacancy, and potential eviction costs. It's pragmatic, not charitable.

PropsManager's tenant communication tools make it easy to share local resource information with tenants who may be struggling. Sometimes a well-timed message with a link to assistance programs is all it takes to keep rent flowing. Contact us for a demo to see how it works.

What to Expect Going Forward

The moratorium era isn't truly "over." Its effects are still playing out, and several trends suggest its legacy will deepen:

More States Will Adopt Tenant Protections

The political momentum is clear. Tenant advocacy groups are more organized and better funded than they were pre-pandemic. Expect more states to adopt just cause eviction requirements, rent stabilization measures, and right to counsel programs over the next 3-5 years.

Courts Will Remain Slow

Even as the moratorium-era backlog clears, the procedural changes (mediation requirements, diversion programs, RTC) will keep eviction timelines longer than pre-pandemic norms. Budget appropriately.

Insurance Products Will Evolve

Rent guarantee insurance and landlord legal protection policies have become more popular and more sophisticated since the moratorium. If you're not carrying some form of rent loss protection on your units, look into it. Premiums typically run $200-$500/year per unit, which is a bargain compared to a single lengthy eviction.

Technology Becomes Non-Negotiable

The landlords who weathered the moratorium best were those with systems in place: digital lease signing, online rent collection, organized documentation, automated communication. That trend has only accelerated. Managing properties with spreadsheets and shoeboxes of receipts just doesn't cut it anymore.

A platform like PropsManager gives you the documentation infrastructure to protect yourself—lease management, payment tracking, maintenance records, and communication logs all in one place. When you eventually need to present your case in court, having organized, timestamped records makes all the difference.

Lessons from the Moratorium Every Landlord Should Internalize

After watching thousands of landlords navigate the moratorium era, a few lessons stand out:

1. Cash reserves are non-negotiable. The old advice of keeping 3-6 months of expenses in reserve per property? That's the bare minimum now. I'd argue 6-12 months given current eviction timelines.

2. Relationships matter more than ever. Landlords who maintained open communication with tenants during the moratorium recovered more unpaid rent than those who went straight to adversarial postures. This isn't soft—it's strategic.

3. Know your local laws cold. There's no such thing as "general" landlord-tenant law anymore. What's legal in Houston is illegal in Portland. You must know your specific jurisdiction's current rules—not what they were three years ago.

4. Document everything. Every notice, every communication, every payment (or non-payment), every repair request. A well-documented file is your best defense in any legal proceeding.

5. Don't over-leverage. Landlords with thin margins and maximum leverage were the most vulnerable during the moratorium. Conservative financing provides a buffer for the next disruption—whatever it may be.

Explore More PropsManager Resources

Looking for the right property management software? Check out our in-depth guides:

• Compare Property Management Software — See how PropsManager stacks up against Buildium, AppFolio, Rent Manager, and Propertyware.
• Software for Small Landlords — Built for landlords managing 1–50 units without the enterprise price tag.
• AI-Powered Property Management — Discover how automation can save you 5–10 hours per week.
• Solutions for Property Managers — Scale from 50 to 500+ units without scaling your costs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the federal eviction moratorium still in effect?

No. The CDC eviction moratorium was struck down by the Supreme Court on August 26, 2021, and has not been reinstated. However, some state and local eviction protections enacted during the pandemic remain in effect as permanent law. Always check your specific jurisdiction's current rules before proceeding with an eviction.

How long does eviction take now compared to before the pandemic?

It depends heavily on your jurisdiction. In many areas, eviction timelines have roughly doubled. A non-payment eviction that took 30-45 days pre-pandemic might now take 60-120 days in faster jurisdictions and 6-12 months in places like New York City, Los Angeles County, or Cook County, Illinois. Mandatory mediation, right to counsel programs, and court backlogs all contribute to longer timelines.

Can I still require higher security deposits to protect myself?

That depends on your state. Some states like Texas, Florida, and Georgia have no statutory cap on security deposits, so landlords have increased deposits to 1.5x-2x monthly rent. However, states like California (capped at one month), New York, and Maryland have limits. Check your state's current statute before setting deposit amounts, and document the condition of the unit thoroughly at move-in regardless.

What should I do if a tenant stops paying rent but claims financial hardship?

First, document the non-payment immediately. Then, serve the legally required notice for your jurisdiction (which may be longer than you remember—many states extended cure periods post-pandemic). Simultaneously, connect the tenant with local rental assistance programs, as this may resolve the situation without litigation. If the tenant doesn't pay or apply for assistance, proceed with the eviction process per your local rules. Keep records of every step—courts now expect landlords to show they attempted to work with tenants before filing.

How has the moratorium affected landlord insurance?

The moratorium era spurred significant growth in rent guarantee insurance and landlord legal expense coverage. Premiums have stabilized since the initial post-moratorium spike and typically run $200-$500 per unit annually. Many insurers now offer policies specifically designed to cover lost rent during extended eviction proceedings. If you're a smaller landlord, this coverage can be the difference between surviving a lengthy non-payment situation and losing the property.

Protect Your Rental Business Going Forward

The eviction moratorium taught landlords a hard lesson: the rules can change overnight, and those without systems in place get hurt the worst. Whether it's tighter screening, better documentation, or faster rent collection, the common thread is preparation.

PropsManager was built for exactly this reality. From automated tenant screening and digital lease management to online rent collection and comprehensive record-keeping, every feature is designed to help landlords operate professionally and protect themselves legally. The landlords who invest in proper systems today won't be scrambling when the next disruption hits.

Ready to fortify your property management? Start your free trial or request a personalized demo to see how PropsManager can help you navigate the post-moratorium landscape with confidence.