Landlords who were barred from evicting tenants during COVID are in settlement talks with DOJ to recoup as much as $1.5 billion

Just months into the pandemic, Matthew Haines, like landlords across the country, learned he was barred from evicting tenants who didn’t pay their rent under a federal eviction moratoriumthat lasted almost a year — costing him and his investors over $1 million.

Now, the 57-year-old Texan is hoping to get some relief.

Haines is among more than 1,500 property owners who filed a federal lawsuit arguing the moratorium enacted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention violated...