The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Trade Commission will crack down on eviction practices they think violate laws like the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act, according to a joint statement by the two entities in the wake of the most recent extension of the federal eviction moratorium.
Of particular interest: deceptive and unfair practices the agencies say could result from landlords failing to apprise residents of their rights.
“Staff at both agencies will be monitoring and investigating eviction practices, particularly by major multistate landlords, eviction management services, and private equity firms, to ensure that they are complying with the law,” their statement read. “Evicting tenants in violation of the CDC, state, or local moratoria, or evicting or threatening to evict them without apprising them of their legal rights under such moratoria, may violate prohibitions against deceptive and unfair practices, including under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act.”
The CFPB has become increasingly active in housing practices as the COVID-19 crisis unfolds, with CFPB Director Dave Ueijo noting in a recent blog post that he’s instructed his teams to “consider all of the CFPB’s available tools to preserve people’s homes and protect them from unnecessary foreclosure.” To read more click here