moratorium

A moratorium is the authorization to either postpone the repayment of debts, the performance of obligations, or to suspend an activity or law for a period of time. A moratorium may stay in place for a pre-determined amount of time, indefinitely, or until the purpose for which the moratorium was granted is satisfied or resolved.

In the case Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, 535 U.S. 302 (2002), the U.S. Supreme Court refused to articulate a categorical rule requiring compensation for temporary and complete deprivations of economic use of land under a moratoria; it instead held that moratoria do not constitute automatic per se takings of property. The Court acknowledged that, depending on the facts of a given case, moratoria may nonetheless be considered a compensable taking, even if temporary.

[Last reviewed in July of 2026 by the Wex Definitions Team]

Wex