The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s national eviction moratorium ends on March 31, with families across Arizona at risk of eviction starting April 1. 

About 40 Arizona lawmakers sent a letter to Gov. Doug Ducey to establish a statewide eviction moratorium to replace the CDC's.

The letter requests an extra three months without evictions, so that the emergency rental assistance provided in the American Rescue Plan can be distributed to Arizona landlords. 

Arizona state Sen. Kirsten Engel initiated the request, and she believes the extra time given by the extension will allow the state to provide the $374 million in federal funds allocated to rent relief.

“We have a pipeline already built in, the money that’s coming in from the federal government hasn’t gone down into that pipeline yet, so we really need the time to get that moving,” said Engel.

She believes that despite challenges to the CDC’s eviction moratorium in other state courts, Arizona has grounds to extend the moratorium. 

“There have been challenges to the CDC moratorium, but I think this is an area where the state is on solid ground. We’ve had a state supreme court decision rejecting challenges to Ducey’s prior eviction moratorium,” said Engel.

Engel predicts that without a moratorium, thousands of families will be evicted starting April 1. Thousands of families also have pending applications for rental assistance throughout the state.