As eviction bans across the country start to lift, the US could face an eviction ‘apocalypse’
- At least 44 million Americans have filed for unemployment in the past three months as the coronavirus pandemic devastated industries such as retail and hospitality.
- Many who lost jobs were unable to pay their rent or utilities, prompting state and federal governments to issue a temporary ban on evictions.
- But those bans are set to expire this summer, leaving many people at risk of losing their homes.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
The United States is preparing to deal with yet another crisis: an eviction crisis.
On Thursday, Business Insider’s Carmen Reinicke reported that 44 million Americans have filed for unemployment in the last 12 weeks. The mass layoffs and cratering industries have left many unable to pay their rent or utilities due to the lack of income.
Because of the financial crisis, the pandemic has caused, the federal government put a temporary ban on evictions in federally assisted properties, set to last until July 25. Individual states — like Michigan, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania — had their own eviction moratoriums. But those have expired or are set to expire soon, with no extensions in place: Michigan’s moratorium expired on June 11, while Louisiana’s and Pennsylvania’s are expected to expire on June 15 and July 10 respectively.
The extra funds the stimulus bill extended to Americans are also running out. At the end of July, the extra $600 per week in federal unemployment benefits will expire, and there’s no confirmation yet whether additional stimulus checks are coming.
This is the money that has been allowing people who lost their jobs to continue paying their rent, CNBC’s Alicia Adamczyk reports. The loss of extra income, in conjunction with the end of eviction moratoriums, may cause a nationwide eviction crisis — or worse. Aaron Carr, founder and executive director of the Housing Rights Initiative, told CNBC that evicting people right now, during an ongoing pandemic, could turn “a catastrophe into an apocalypse” […]
via What Happens When the Homeless Populations Suddenly Double?
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