Justices weigh whether CARES Act 30‑day notice applies to all evictions or only nonpayment cases

The Supreme Court heard arguments on Nov. 21, 2024, over whether a provision of the CARES Act requires landlords of covered properties to give a 30-day notice to vacate for all eviction types or only for evictions based on nonpayment of rent. The case was argued for the petitioner by Evan Wood and for the respondent by Christopher Reed of Montgomery Purdue, which represents the King County Housing Authority.

Wood, identifying himself as counsel for petitioner Andre Knight, told the court that subsection C(1) of the statute "says that a lessor of a covered dwelling unit may not demand that the tenant vacate" without a 30-day notice and that the text contains no limitation to nonpayment. "There's nothing in here that would indicate to the reader that that is only limited to non payment," Wood…