The National Apartment Association has filed a lawsuit seeking to recover damages for rental housing owners from what it characterized as an "overreaching" federal moratorium on tenant evictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a national moratorium on evictions in September 2020 as part of an effort to slow the spread of the disease. The moratorium is currently scheduled to expire Saturday. In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, NAA said apartment owners and operators are now left to shoulder $26.6 billion in debt not covered by federal rental assistance.

"America's 40 million renters will still need a place to call home tomorrow, next year and next decade," NAA CEO Bob Pinnegar said in a statement. "The CDC's irresponsible eviction policy has jeopardized not only the availability, but also the future cost of rental housing and leaves renters saddled with crippling debt."

The federal government allocated roughly $47 billion in federal rent relief in two economic stimulus bills passed in December 2020 and March 2021, but the sluggish pace of Congressional action has allowed rent debt to continue to balloon, according to NAA.

"With little hope of receiving additional federal assistance, NAA is seeking to limit the loss borne by rental housing providers and, ultimately, clear the debt records of their residents," the association said.

Housing advocates were quick to blast the suit, according to CBS News. Eric Dunn, director of litigation at the National Housing Law Project, told the news organization that NAA's actions are "part of a sustained attack on civil rights and the ability of the federal government to protect everyday people."

"I don't see how they're going to be able to prove that these restrictions caused the damage that they're claiming, especially when the government has approved tens of billions of dollars in federal rental assistance funds that these landlords can apply for," he said.

NAA is represented by two law firms, Dorsey & Whitney and the law office of John McDermott.

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