Rahman v. CDC

Americans’ property rights are under attack from the federal government. Rahman v. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention seeks to restore those rights by challenging the eviction moratoriums that are hurting entrepreneurs and families in Illinois and across the country.

Last year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) implemented a temporary eviction ban, but what was originally slated to last a few months, has continued illegally for over a year with one version or another of the moratorium in place since March 2020.

The Biden Administration is claiming the illegal eviction ban provides relief to struggling Americans, but it does so by creating hardships for other Americans—the property owners.

Many Americans, like plaintiff Syed Rahman, depend on the income from their rental properties to support their families. Illinois-based Syed invested his savings into rental properties to provide for his family after he retired. The continued eviction moratorium has put his own future at risk.

“I immigrated to the United States in the hopes of achieving the American dream only to have my constitutional rights stripped away by this illegal ban,” said Rahman. “I invested my pension in properties to support myself and my family during retirement. I understand that times are hard, and I always try to work with people who are struggling. However, this blanket eviction ban from Washington goes too far.”

The CDC has limited powers under the Public Health Services Act, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth and U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia have already ruled that previous eviction bans had already exceeded the CDC’s lawful powers. A majority of the U.S. Supreme Court has indicated they also hold this view.

Unfortunately, the Biden Administration has pushed forward the eviction moratorium, in violation of hardworking Americans’ constitutional rights. The Illinois Rental Property Owners Association and two individual rental property owners are suing to end the Biden Administration’s unconstitutional moratorium with help from attorneys at the Liberty Justice Center, a national public-interest law firm.