Gov. John Bel Edwards has signed an emergency order blocking residential evictions until Sept. 24 as the state reels from the coronavirus’s delta variant and Hurricane Ida.
The governor’s proclamation does not mention evictions, but his office said the order, which postpones all legal deadlines, will prevent landlords from tossing tenants.
The emergency order fulfills a request that tenant advocates made last month as the delta variant filled Louisiana’s intensive care units and a federal eviction moratorium died in court – but only because a new disaster has been added to the mix. But it adds to the frustration of landlords who have faced an on and off series of eviction halts since March 2020, with the most recent being struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court on Aug. 26. Practically speaking, legal evictions were already blocked in many places affected by Ida, because courts have simply shut down. In New Orleans, for instance, the 1st and 2nd city courts are shuttered until Sept. 19. But the governor’s order will add uniformity across the state.
