Today, the Pennsylvania Governor issued an executive order which purports to suspend all evictions and mortgage foreclosure actions until July 7, 2020. This is following an order from the PA Supreme Court which previously extended such a moratorium to June 1, 2020. Query why the Supreme Court did not take this action.
Needless to say, this is an absolutely monumental exertion of executive authority, completely unlike anything I have seen in my career or lifetime. With the stroke of a pen, the Governor for the moment has intervened in the administration of every residential lease and mortgage transaction in the Commonwealth.
Also, now that the PA Supreme Court previously upheld the Governor’s authority under the COVID-19 crisis, and the US Supreme Court has declined review of a case challenging the Governor’s authority on this point, expect a significant number of similar actions from the Governor’s office.
This should have been done by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, as this is a legislative matter. We are uncharted waters here to say the very least.
You can read the entire executive order below.
PA Gov Order Re Foreclosure... by Bryan Tuk on Scribd