Can my landlord evict me if I get COVID-19?

Evicting someone because they have or are believed to have COVID-19 is probably a form of “housing discrimination” under fair housing laws.

Fair housing laws tell landlords they cannot discriminate based on disability or national origin.

A court might decide that your landlord is discriminating against you if they:

• Send you a notice to quit, or try to evict you because you have COVID-19.
• Send you a notice to quit, or try to evict you because they think you have COVID-19.
• Force you to quarantine.
• Ban you from common areas.
• Tell you to follow different rules than other tenants because they think you have COVID-19.
• Refuse to rent to you because they think you have COVID-19.
• Refuse to rent to you because of your national origin.
• Treat you differently because of your national origin.

It is probably discriminatory for a shelter to:

• Turn you away, or
• Asks to leave,

because they think you have COVID-19.  But you may be sent to an isolation site if you test positive as a protective step.

There are some limited exceptions when fair housing laws do not apply.

If your landlord is discriminating against you, or if your landlord sends you a notice to quit, or tries to evict you, try to get a lawyer.