UPDATE, JUNE 24, 1:20 P.M. ET: This story has been updated with information on the CDC's official announcement about the eviction moratorium. 

The federal ban on residential evictions, scheduled to expire June 30, has been extended for another month.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday it has signed an extension of the moratorium through July 31, and it said this is intended to be the final extension.

The CDC first issued the moratorium in September, and it was extended in December and March.

A group of 44 U.S. lawmakers sent a letter Tuesday to the CDC and President Joe Biden urging them to extend and strengthen the moratorium. The letter cited a federal government estimate that 6 million renter households are at risk of eviction, and it said they tend to be located in communities with lower-than-average vaccination rates and higher Covid-19 case rates.

The federal government has allocated more than $45B in rent relief, and over 340 programs have been launched by states and municipalities to distribute the funds, but only a fraction of the money had reached renters as of late last month. The letter from lawmakers said that more time and resources are needed to make sure renters receive the relief.

"The impact of the federal moratorium cannot be overstated, and the need to strengthen and extend it is an urgent matter of health, racial, and economic justice," the letter said.

The National Multifamily Housing Council, which has been calling for an end to the moratorium since last year, released a series of principles last week to help renters receive assistance and avoid evictions once the moratorium is lifted. It recommended apartment landlords work with local jurisdictions to help residents receive assistance, offer payment plans to residents at risk of eviction and give at least 30 days' notice before filing an eviction for nonpayment of rent.

A legal challenge to the moratorium from a coalition of landlord groups reached the Supreme Court earlier this month, but the high court has yet to rule on the case. The attorneys general of 22 states called on the court to maintain the eviction ban.