Miami-Dade Circuit Chief Judge Bertila Soto, 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida/Photo by A.M. Holt

Miami-Dade County apartment residents struggling to pay rent as a result of the coronavirus recession are getting some protection amid reports landlords are seeking illegal evictions.

Chief Circuit Judge Bertila Soto is requiring landlords to submit a declaration attesting the proposed eviction is permitted under federal and state moratoriums seeking to protect renters who lost their jobs.

Soto's administrative order issued May 13 requires landlords to submit the declaration under penalty of perjury.

The onset of COVID-19 prompted governments to impose a temporary moratorium on some evictions to protecting tenants who lost their jobs due to the closing of nonessential businesses. Miami-Dade started phased reopenings Monday, but the tourism industry is expected to take some time to recover.

Soto's order references the Trump administration's coronavirus relief bill that bans evictions from properties that have a federal subsidy or a federally backed mortgage through July 25. The moratorium requires a 30-day notice, meaning the earliest a tenant would end up vacating a home is Aug. 23. Soto also references Gov. Ron DeSantis' suspension of evictions through June 2 for renters who can't pay because of the health care crisis.

Miami-Dade has said it won't assist with evictions as long as the state of emergency lasts, although Soto's order doesn't reference the county stance.

"The administrative order on evictions under the CARES Act follows this federal law as written and was issued well within the moratorium expiration date," Soto said in an emailed statement.

Landlords have served renters with eviction notices despite the prohibitions, Alana Greer, co-director of the nonprofit public interest law firm Community Justice Project, told the Miami Herald.

Soto's requirement for declarations stating evictions aren't prohibited by the CARES Act is good news, but the same should be imposed for foreclosures, said Miami attorney and civic activist David Winker.

He was the first to point out banks are filing for foreclosures of federally backed mortgages and courts are processing them despite the CARES Act moratorium. Winker said hundreds of foreclosures have been filed since the March 18 ban.

DeSantis also put a moratorium on all foreclosures, and another Soto order postponed all nonemergency court proceedings.

Many of the new foreclosures are going to end up in default judgments while homeowners are forced to find lawyers mid-pandemic, Winker said.

"Ensuring that homeowners are not losing their homes in illegal foreclosures during a pandemic is the moral thing to do, and it is also the right thing to do for the economy," he added. "We are at a critical juncture as we try to get the economy going, and no one is served by having a bunch of foreclosed homes on the market."

Soto didn't directly address Winker's push to extend her requirement for eviction declarations to foreclosures, but she spoke in terms of due process.

"Our judges are prepared to give all cases careful attention and afford due process to all parties involved," Soto said by email.