Cozen O'Connor

  • The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued an interim final rule clarifying and strengthening tenant protections under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), in support of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (“CDC”) COVID-19-related eviction moratorium.
  • The rule requires debt collectors to provide to tenants who may have rights under the eviction moratorium a written notice of those rights concurrent with an eviction notice or on the date that an eviction action is filed, and clarifies that notice given over the phone or by electronic means such as text or email is insufficient.
  • The CFPB notes that failure to provide the required tenant-rights notice is a violation of the FDCPA that may give rise to a private cause of action against debt collectors and result in actual damages, statutory damages, and attorneys’ fees.
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