Why a Historic Eviction Wave Still Looms Over the U.S.
With millions of people in the U.S. out of work, Americans are having to stretch financially to keep the roof over their heads.
(Bloomberg) -- With nearly 10 million people in the U.S. out of work and pandemic safety-net programs set to expire within months, Americans are having to stretch financially to keep a roof over their heads. The latest in a series of government moratoriums may just delay, not avert, an eviction crisis of historic proportions.
1. How many people could face eviction?
About 11 million Americans have fallen behind on payments during the pandemic, according to a Center for Budget and Policy Priorities estimate based on U.S. Census Bureau data. Many or most of those people could face eviction as soon as the latest federal moratorium expires in early October. In a Census Bureau survey completed in early July, before the latest federal eviction moratorium was imposed, an estimated 3.6 million households reported being somewhat or very likely to face eviction within two months.
2. How could a crisis be averted?
Housing advocates are scrambling to set up eviction diversion programs in courts to connect tenants with legal aid and rental assistance. Eviction is a legal process, and the burden on landlords differs by state. But the mere threat of eviction often is enough for landlords to get someone to move out. Many have been working with tenants in the hopes that more emergency rental assistance is on its way, but others -- especially corporate landlords -- have filed to evict thousands of tenants as soon as they are legally allowed.
3. Why is this coming to a head now?
As the pandemic raged in 2020, a patchwork of federal, state and local moratoriums prevented evictions in many cases. In September, after the initial federal moratorium expired, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention temporarily halted evictions of renters earning up to $99,000 a year (up to $198,000 in the case of couples) in the name of preventing the coronavirus from spreading. During that hiatus, the CDC urged states to deploy some $47 billion in federal rental assistance that was allocated in two tranches, in December and March. But the moratorium expired on July 31 with most of the money still unspent. After a failed bid by Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives to extend the moratorium, as President Joe Biden had urged them to, the CDC again stepped in, issuing a targeted 60-day extension covering areas hard-hit by the delta variant of the coronavirus. That means about 90% of tenants are protected from eviction through October 3.
4. Can’t the moratorium be extended further?
That won’t be easy. The CDC’s power to impose a moratorium stands on shaky constitutional ground, having been narrowly upheld by the Supreme Court in June. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was a pivotal vote on the majority, said he would require congressional authorization to extend the ban beyond July 31. Landlords who brought that case to the Supreme Court wasted no time in filing a legal challenge to the Oct. 3 extension. A federal judge in Washington rebuffed that suit, while noting that she considered the moratorium legally dubious.
5. What else is being done?
Of the $47 billion in rent relief funds appropriated by Congress to cities and states, less than 10% had reached tenants and landlords through June. State programs struggled to build the infrastructure to distribute a massive influx of cash, while tenants complained about onerous application requirements and poor communication from program administrators. The U.S. Treasury Department, which administers the grant program, has released multiple rounds of guidance to remove red tape, such as allowing tenants to self-attest on income requirements and letting states use income estimates. Treasury officials have also reminded states of a looming deadline: If they haven’t disbursed the bulk of the money by the end of September, the federal government will reallocate funds from underperforming programs to states with more robust operations.
6. Who stands to get hurt?
Studies show that evictions affect Black and Hispanic renters at much higher rates than White people. Renters with children are also more likely to be forced out of their home than those without. Getting evicted can make it harder for people to find a new place to live, because landlords often don’t want to rent to them. Smaller property owners with fewer financial resources may get squeezed, too, if they can’t collect enough rent to cover mortgages, property taxes and maintenance. Landlords need to collect rent to cover their expenses, including mortgage payments and property taxes and, in some cases, utilities. A wave of foreclosures on these properties could gut the nation’s affordable housing stock, hurt city budgets and put strain on the banking system.
The Reference Shelf
- More on the 5-4 Supreme Court decision that allowed the CDC moratorium to stand, until July 31.
- Bloomberg Opinion columnist Michael R. Strain says the moratorium must end on Oct. 3.
- The initial U.S. eviction ban worked well before it expired, ProPublica reported.
- This United Way page has advice on covering your rent.
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