I’m in Richmond for an eviction defense with nearly 50 other people. Thankfully, it sounds like the person is going to be safe though December, but folks are still going to stick around for a bit just in case their landlord tries anything illegal.

An organizer is educating the group on the eviction process:

- First, you get a 5-Day “pay your rent” notice.

- Landlord files unlawful detainer. You *need* to show up to court.

- At your hearing, you can ask for a 60 day continuance if you have extenuating circumstances.

- They’ll ask you if you owe rent. Say, “I don’t know.” (Not a lie, since there are often additional fees).

- At your hearing, ask for a bill of particulars.

- If you get a 60 day continuance, they will make a judgement at your next court appearance. If the judge rules in favor of the landlord, you have a minimum of 10 days to file an appeal before you can be evicted.

- After this, they can get a writ of eviction from the Sheriff’s Office that they have to put on your door within 45 days. If they fail to do so, your landlord has to file a new case against you.

- There is a CDC declaration that, when turned in, makes it illegal to continue with an eviction through December 31st. To qualify, you have to: make <99k, have lost income (this is poorly defined, so most people should be able to claims this), have outstanding medical bills...

- ...and you also have to prove that you at least *tried* to obtain rent relief. You do not have to actually receive anything, even a call back, but document the attempt.

Note: this information is *only* applicable in the case of non-payment of rent. Since the start of the pandemic, landlords have sought other bullshit means to evict people, and the CDC moratorium won’t protect you in those cases.

Because of this, and since landlords are illegally trying to evict people anyway, eviction defense is still critical. You can follow @noevictions_rva for updates on future actions. You should also follow @RichmondTenants for more information. They also regularly do court support.

Here's the CDC declaration in question by the way. Be sure you document sending this to your landlord so they can't claim they didn't receive it. https://twitter.com/ruefulCowboy/status/1319650161837154304

Important correction: what the CDC declaration does is prevent your landlord from *executing* a writ of eviction. It does *not* halt legal proceedings. Thank you @PatrickMcCloud for pointing this out! https://twitter.com/tormaid/status/1319644825398947841

You can read the full FAQ for the CDC declaration here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/eviction-moratoria-order-faqs.pdf

Since this thread has gotten a lot of attention, I feel like I need to say that this information is not to be taken as legal advice.