Eviction protections are still in place for struggling Virginia renters despite last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that appears to open the floodgates for landlords to go to court to remove tenants who have fallen far behind.

That’s according to Martin D. “Marty” Wegbreit, director of litigation at the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society’s Richmond office.

He offered his view following the Aug. 26 decision from the nation’s highest court that struck down the Biden administration’s latest attempt to keep a national eviction ban in place as a public health measure.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Congress needs to extend any eviction moratorium and that the executive branch lacks the authority to do so now that the pandemic emergency orders have expired.

Mr. Wegbreit stated that the current protections in force through June 2022 require landlords, before going to court, to give a 14-day notice to delinquent ten- ants of the state’s Rent Relief Program that can pay past due rent, and to apply on behalf of any of their tenants for relief from the program.

During that two-week period, a delinquent tenant can pay in full, enter a payment plan with the landlord if willing or apply for rental relief, halting any immediate eviction action, Mr. Wegbreit stated.

He noted that landlords cannot seek eviction so long as the tenant has applied and is awaiting a response from the state program. The program has distributed about $500 million already in payments to families who have lost income due to the pandemic and fallen behind. The program had about $1.1 billion to spend.

The program is run through the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development and can pay up to 18 months past due rent, according to the website.

Mr. Wegbreit indicated that landlords who fail to cooperate with the applica- tion process or fail to supply requested documents are barred from seeking a court order of possession to oust a delinquent tenant.

A landlord can file for a court order of possession, Mr. Wegbreit stated, if the state program deems the tenant ineligible for relief, if the tenant refuses to cooperate with a rent relief application, if the rent relief program fails to respond within 45 days for an application or if the rent relief program runs out of money. Eligible tenants are those whose annual income is at or below 80 percent of the area’s median income and whose rent is 150 percent or less of the area’s fair market rent.

However, “if a tenant is complying with a written payment plan,” the landlord is barred from evicting for nonpayment, Mr. Wegbreit continued.

Also, through Sept. 28, he stated, a tenant in an eviction lawsuit for nonpayment can get the case postponed for 60 days by providing written proof of reduced income to the court.

Finally, a tenant can pay the total balance due at least 48 hours before sheriff’s deputies are schedule to carry out the eviction, and have the eviction canceled, Mr. Wegbreit stated.

He added that the state protections impact landlords who gained an eviction judgment prior to Aug. 10 when they were reinstated, meaning they cannot enforce the eviction unless they meet the requirements now in place.

In Richmond, and most of the state, tenants can apply for rent relief online by calling (703) 962-1884 or by going online at www.dhcd.virginia.gov/rrp. Potential applicants also can email rrp@dhcd.virginia.gov with questions, problems and status updates.

Chesterfield County separately is operating its own relief program that is available online at actsrva.org/chesterfield-emergency-rent-and-utility-assistance-cera.