Tenants who need eviction relief must fill out CDC form to qualify

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- There are currently 47 outstanding evictions waiting to be served by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.

Those evictions were filed before Governor Jared Polis issued an order on October 21, banning some evictions for failure to pay rent during the pandemic.

The magistrate who handles eviction in El Paso County told KRDO that many tenants may be protected under federal and state orders but they need to act to get eviction protection.

Tenants facing eviction must sign a Centers for Disease Control Declaration form certifying that they can't pay rent to due hardship amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The form requires tenants to certify that they have used best efforts to obtain all government assistance for rent and housing, do not earn more than $99,000 in annual income and would likely become homeless if evicted.

According to officials, many El Paso County tenants fail to fill out the form, eliminating any protection.

The El Paso County Sheriff's Office says it has served 292 writs of restitution related to evictions from March 2 to November 16. That's 66 percent less than the same time period in 2019.

The lack of payment by tenants and lack of legal recourse during the pandemic is creating challenges for landlords including foreclosure.

"Evictions are stretching out 90, 120, 150 days, and if you're a landlord not collecting rent but paying your mortgage during that time, that's a very bad deal," said Attorney Don Ebby.

The governor's order preventing evictions due to lack of payment during the pandemic is set to expire on Friday. It's unclear if the order will be extended.