On October 28th, Governor Roy Cooper issued Executive Order 171, titled “Assisting North Carolinians At Risk Of Eviction.” The order builds on the CDC directive from September, which is intended to prevent or limit the number of evictions due to nonpayment of rent. That order has not been uniformly applied throughout the country or across North Carolina. The most important provisions of Governor Cooper’s order put some force into the CDC directive, first by simply recognizing it as effective, and then by adding the following requirement that are binding on landlords and agencies of state government, including the courts:

• Landlords are obligated to provide the CDC Declaration Form to tenants subject to an eviction and must file an affidavit in the eviction proceeding stating that they have done so.
• A single CDC Declaration Form shall apply to all tenants living in the home.
• If the tenant provides a completed Declaration to the landlord, the landlord shall take no actions to request a writ of possession, but may respond to the Declaration in the court action. The court will determine whether the CDC directive is applicable at its regular hearing on the eviction action.

The executive order goes beyond the CDC directive by extending protection from evictions to residential tenants who have applied for the HOPE program – a state financial assistance initiative – and have been notified that they have met the criteria for participation in the program.

Finally, the executive order expires December 31, 2020, unless extended or replaced. That is the same date on which the CDC directive is slated to expire.