eviction moratorium | GeorgMedia

August 30, 2021

750,000 households face eviction by January with possible ‘severe’ public health consequences, Goldman says

eviction order Arizona — The Maricopa County constable signs an eviction order on October 7, 2020 in Phoenix, Arizona.
John Moore/Getty Images

Goldman Sachs projects 750,000 households face eviction by January with potentially “severe” COVID-19 consequences.
The Supreme Court struck down the federal eviction moratorium last week.
Democrats and the White House are prioritizing fixes to an emergency rent relief program.
See more stories on Insider’s business page.

Goldman Sachs projects that landlords could evict 750,000 households by the end of 2021 after the Supreme Court’s recent decision to strike down a federal eviction ban. They also warned there could be “severe” public health consequences from the coming wave of evictions.”

The Goldman analysts estimated 3.5 million households are struggling to catch up on rent, the group said in a note released Sunday. Collectively, those households owe landlords around $17 billion in unpaid rent, Goldman projected.

Goldman wrote that while the coming evictions may dent household consumption and job growth, the public health consequences are probably more “severe” and it may increase virus infections. COVID-19 cases from the Delta variant have surged nationwide, along with hospitalizations in many parts of the US.

Up until July 31, renters who hadn’t made monthly payments were shielded from eviction due to a moratorium imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That went in tandem with an emergency rental assistance program designed to provide renters with federal aid so they can stay in their homes.

But the money has been slow to get to beleaguered renters in most states and cities due to bureaucratic snags and onerous documentation requirements, among other problems. It helped spark a last-minute Democratic push to extend the moratorium so renters could have more time to receive federal relief, but it collapsed because of resistance from moderates.

Faced with withering pressure from progressives, the Biden administration enacted a limited moratorium in counties struggling with high infection rates earlier this month. But the Supreme Court struck that down on Thursday evening in a 6-3 ruling.

Conservative justices banded together and ruled that the public health agency had overstepped its authority, which could pave the way for additional federal overreach.

-Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) August 30, 2021

In the wake of the ruling shutting down the federal eviction ban, only seven states and the District of Columbia have eviction moratoriums. Housing experts warn a looming wave of evictions could hit low-income Black Americans the hardest.

“Evictions will occur where unemployment rates are highest-that is, where poor and mostly black service industry workers live,” Paul Williams, a fellow at the Jain Family Institute, wrote Monday on Twitter. He added most homeless shelters are already at capacity.

On Friday, the White House appeared to concede Democrats couldn’t muster the votes in Congress to renew a federal eviction ban. Instead, it was prioritizing ironing out the problems in the rental relief program.

“If there were enough votes to pass an eviction moratorium in Congress, it would have happened,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said at a daily news briefing. “It hasn’t happened.”

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri joined 61 House Democrats in calling for Democratic leaders to assist in extending the moratorium.

“The impending eviction crisis is a matter of public health and safety that demands an urgent legislative solution to prevent further harm and needless loss of human life,” the letter said.

Read the original article on Business Insider

August 27, 2021

The Supreme Court struck down Biden’s eviction ban, but these 7 states and DC are stepping up to protect renters

A woman walks past a wall in Los Angeles that has graffiti reading "Forgive Our Rent" — Biden’s latest eviction ban was just struck down by the Supreme Court.
VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty Images

The Supreme Court struck down Biden’s eviction moratorium on Thursday.
That leaves a handful of states, such as New York and California, with eviction bans in place.
At least 7.4 million people are at risk of eviction in the next few months, per Census Data.
See more stories on Insider’s business page.

The Supreme Court dealt the Biden administration a fresh blow on Thursday evening when it struck down a nationwide eviction moratorium, imperiling millions of renters struggling to catch up on their monthly payments. It leaves just a handful of eviction bans in place at the state level.

In a 6-3 ruling, the high court said in an unsigned opinion that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had overstepped its authority by imposing a fresh moratorium tailored to areas struggling with high caseloads from the Delta variant. The court’s conservative justices said it was up to Congress to renew the moratorium, with three liberal justices in dissent.

Now, around 7.4 million people are at risk of eviction, which makes up about 16% of all renters in the US, per data from the Census Bureau.

The Biden administration issued the eviction ban on August 3 after progressives led by Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri stepped up pressure on the White House and demanded it. The moratorium was intended to last until October 3, with President Joe Biden saying the main goal was to allow time for the distribution of $46 billion in emergency rental relief aid from his stimulus package.

Data from the Treasury Department shows only around 11% of that federal money has reached renters. States and municipalities are grappling with low staffing, onerous documentation requirements, and stubborn landlords who refuse to accept the aid among other bureaucratic hurdles.

According to legal information resource site Nolo, seven states and DC still have some eviction bans of their own still in effect, which aren’t affected by the Supreme Court’s ruling. You can scroll over each state to see more details about the ban:

Those states have different approaches to their moratoria. New York has a full eviction ban in place for only four more days, set to expire on August 31. Neighboring New Jersey’s ban is more open-ended, intended to last through two months after the end of the emergency.

The District of Columbia has a plan to gradually phase out their ban, allowing progressively more legal action by landlords over the next several months.

Studies increasingly indicate that states with eviction bans have lower COVID-19 caseloads compared to those that don’t. “There’s plenty of research that shows eviction moratoria prevents case growth in states where an eviction moratorium was in place versus states where moratoriums were limited,” Paul Williams, a housing expert at the Jain Family Institute, told Insider.

Democrats who favor an extension of the federal moratorium appear to have their hands tied because they don’t have enough votes to pass a renewal in either the House or Senate. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Friday that Democrats “will continue our work to ensure that families suffering hardship during the pandemic can have the safety of home” and attempt to speed up the delivery of rental relief.

But that may not come fast enough for millions of unemployed people who are on the verge of losing all their income from federal jobless aid after Labor Day. Democrats also don’t have enough support for a renewal.

Read the original article on Business Insider

August 27, 2021

Pelosi says Supreme Court ‘immorally ripped away’ relief from Americans in its ‘arbitrary and cruel’ decision to end eviction moratorium

Pelosi criticized the Supreme Court for ending the Biden administration’s eviction moratorium.
The court “immorally ripped away that relief in a ruling that is arbitrary and cruel,” she said.
Around 7.4 million people are at risk of eviction, according to Census data.
See more stories on Insider’s business page.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday rebuked the Supreme Court for ending a nationwide eviction ban, which puts millions of vulnerable renters at risk of eviction as new COVID-19 infections sweep the United States.

“Eviction is a horror that no family should ever have to experience – with cribs and personal belongings on the street, children in fear and distress and parents struggling to find basic shelter,” Pelosi said in a statement. “Putting people out of their homes and forcing them to crowd in with others is also a public health risk as the delta variant accelerates.”

The Supreme Court on Thursday evening struck down the Biden administration’s 60-day extension of the eviction moratorium, which was announced on August 3.

In a 6-3 decision, the court ruled that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which issued the moratorium, had no legal authority to do so. The conservative majority argued that it’s up to Congress to “specifically authorize” a “federally imposed eviction moratorium.” The three liberal justices dissented, arguing that Congress has allocated billions in federal aid to help landlords cover rent, and that an eviction ban isn’t as extreme as government-imposed coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

“Earlier this month, thanks to the leadership of President Biden and Congressional Democrats, the imminent fear of eviction and being put out on the street was lifted for countless families across America with the issuing of a new CDC eviction moratorium. Last night, the Supreme Court immorally ripped away that relief in a ruling that is arbitrary and cruel,” Pelosi said.

She joined a growing number of Democrats who have slammed the court’s decision. The White House on Thursday evening said it is “disappointed” with the ruling and called on states and cities to prevent evictions.

President Joe Biden had anticipated that extending the eviction moratorium would face legal challenges. The Supreme Court ruled in July that the CDC moratorium was unconstitutional and that any extension on the ban must come from Congress.

But Biden renewed the moratorium after he faced pressure from progressive groups and lawmakers to do so. Democratic Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri led a five-day sit-in at the steps of the US Capitol, urging Biden to extend the moratorium as it was set to expire on July 31.

“We were outside the Capitol for 5 days. Rain. Heat. Cold. If they think this partisan ruling is going to stop us from fighting to keep people housed, they’re wrong,” Bush tweeted on Thursday evening after the court’s decision was handed down. “Congress needs to act immediately. For every unhoused or soon to be unhoused person in our districts.”

Pelosi echoed the call, saying that Democrats “will continue our work to ensure that families suffering hardship during the pandemic can have the safety of home, as we also work with communities to ensure the immediate disbursement by states and localities of the over $45 billion allocated by Congress for rental assistance.”

The Supreme Court’s ruling may put millions of Americans out of a home soon, as landlords now have the power to evict people who are behind on rent due to the coronavirus pandemic. Around 7.4 million people are at risk of eviction, which makes up about 16% of all renters, according to Census data.

Coronavirus cases and deaths are spiking in the US. The current 7-day average of daily cases is 142,006, a nearly 3% uptick from last week, and the weekly average of daily deaths is 864, an 11% increase from last week, per the CDC.

Read the original article on Business Insider

August 17, 2021

I’m a landlord with 24 properties. We’re suffering during Biden’s eviction ban, too, and no one is helping.

Julio Gonzalez, the CEO of Engineered Tax Services. — Julio Gonzalez, CEO of Engineered Tax Services.
Courtesy of Julio Gonzalez

The Biden administration’s eviction moratorium, which covers most US counties, lasts until Oct. 3.
Landlords like Julio Gonzalez, who owns 24 East Coast properties, are struggling to navigate costs.
This is Julio Gonzalez’s story, as told to Jamie Killin.
See more stories on Insider’s business page.

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Julio Gonzalez, an East Coast landlord, about the US eviction moratorium.

I’m Julio Gonzalez, the CEO and founder of specialty tax engineering firm Engineered Tax Services. I also own 24 properties on the East Coast and have been a landlord for 20 years.

The Biden administration’s latest eviction moratorium – which lasts through Oct. 3 and covers most US counties, including mine – has led to difficult conversations. Many of our tenants feel like they are in a dire situation.

Unfortunately, we as landlords are too.

Twenty of my properties are residential, and I currently have four tenants taking advantage of the federally mandated eviction moratorium. The moratoriums have led to a significant and negative impact in profitability – for me, it’s been a 15% loss in profit. Residents not paying rent essentially leads to free living, while landlords still have to pay for taxes, utilities, and more.

As a landlord, you can’t pay bills, it’s impacting credit, you’re losing property, and now you’re going to lose everything

It’s just tough. My parents came to America from Cuba, and I grew up with nothing. I’ve worked hard to be successful, so I know what it’s like to face challenges.

We’ve been fortunate to be in a position where we can sustain no income and we try to be very compassionate and understanding for our tenants. We’re trying to extend their leases so we can make enough over a period of time to make up for some of these losses, but most people don’t have that kind of staying power.

I see that with my clients every day. They’re no longer able to make their payments, they’re liquidating their properties, they’re selling them to private equity. It’s very tragic. And while we’ve been able to sustain our properties, we have stopped all improvements and renovations because we don’t have the capital.

We’ve been very cautious of all of our income, capital, and cash because we don’t know if the moratorium is going to continue, or if this pandemic is going to continue.

We’ve really tried to be tight with our budget to get through the eviction moratorium, but really, how many more months can we go?

There are ways the US government can alleviate this, or at least ease some of the frustrations that come with it

First, there needs to be a program in place to not only help those being evicted, but a program to help the landlords out as well. The government should give landlords a moratorium on bank loans, taxes, and utilities.

Most of the landlords I speak with and know are really struggling due to these moratoriums, financially hurting with no relief in sight. They were struggling before, but now this most recent moratorium may bankrupt them altogether. No one is raising a finger to help.

The moratorium ties the hands of hardworking landlords like me, and it totally disrupts the real-estate market. As some landlords are losing their properties, private-equity firms are winning out. They can take advantage of the situation, coming in and taking these properties from the bank for pennies on the dollar because they have low cost of capital, low debt, and staying power.

AH Eviction Phoenix — A constable posting an eviction order at a home in Phoenix, Arizona, on Oct. 1, 2020.
John Moore/Getty Images

Second, proof of hardship could eliminate some of the questions landlords like me have about our tenants. We see that there’s an incredible amount of open jobs, and communities are opening up in spite of the COVID-19 delta variant. It’s likely that our tenants have received jobs and are now working.

Our tenants don’t have to provide any documentation to us, so they could be working and we see that they’re buying new goods, but they’re not paying rent. We’re not there yet, but if it becomes clear people are taking advantage of the moratorium, we would have to discuss possible legal action with our legal team.

One thing I would tell all small-business landlords and real-estate owners is: Have a good relationship with your bank

It’s really helpful to know your banker, because you can tell them you need your loan extended due to the moratorium.

The banks will be accommodating if you work with them. It’s when you don’t work with them, you don’t communicate with them, and when you’re not going at this proactively that there are problems. It’s the same with property taxes – you can always extend your property taxes and let the authorities know. Also, try to work with your insurance agents.

Then, there’s the Small Business Administration – you can use it to try to get some type of interim financing through government programs. Generally, there are local and community funds that states received to help small businesses, including landlords.

If you have an accountant, they may also be able to take the losses you’ve incurred and carry that back to previous tax years to get a refund.

I haven’t had to take these avenues, but I’ve helped my clients do so. Although working with government agencies can be difficult, these resources have worked almost every time for my clients. The biggest issue is getting people educated on these issues because they are not broadcasted to the public as much as we would hope.

The eviction moratorium is tricky for everyone. We’re in this together, so we’ve got to come together and get through this.

Read the original article on Business Insider

August 13, 2021

A federal judge refused to block the CDC’s moratorium on evictions – but said she believes the ban is illegal

Eviction protestors — New Yorkers protest evictions.
Brittainy Newman / AP Exchange

A federal judge refused to block the CDC’s eviction ban on Friday.
But she wrote she believes the ban is illegal and her “hands are tied” with the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of the ban.
After the nationwide ban lapsed, Biden announced a new 60-day one after pressure from progressives.
See more stories on Insider’s business page.

A federal judge refused to block the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s moratorium on evictions on Friday.

But US District Judge Dabney Friedrich made it clear she believes the ban is illegal, writing in her opinion that the court’s “hands are tied” by a higher court’s ruling keeping the ban in place.

Friedrich wrote she believes the new ban on evictions implemented by the CDC is similar to a version of the rule she had deemed illegal in May, and she added in her opinion that even though President Joe Biden’s administration “repeatedly” said it wouldn’t further extend the moratorium given a June extension, but this effectively does so anyway.

Still, she agreed to keep the ban in place in May to prevent a wave of COVID-19 cases.

The eviction ban was initially announced on September 4, to take effect for the rest of 2020. On his first day in office, Biden extended the order through June 30 to aid tenants struggling through the pandemic’s financial fallout. In May, Friedrich wrote that the CDC did not have the authority to impose a nationwide eviction ban, saying the ban was among “difficult policy decisions that have had enormous real-world consequences” in the pandemic, but ultimately the CDC could not overrule property rights.

In June, The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to keep the moratorium in place and it was extended an additional month, through July. Its expiration at the end of that month prompted outrage from Democrats who argued that renters still needed pandemic relief.

Rep. Cori Bush, who led efforts to get the ban extended for a third time, slept at the Capitol as her Democratic colleagues went on recess in a process against renters being evicted. The pressure that progressives put on Biden ended up being successful – on August 3, Biden announced a 60-day eviction ban through October 3 that is not nationwide, but will protect an estimated 90% of renters.

While the extension was a win for renters, landlords turned to legal action. The Alabama Association of Realtors filed a lawsuit on last week challenging the moratorium’s legality, arguing the CDC exceeded its authority. The groups argued the CDC caved into “a tidal wave of political pressure” from Democrats pressing the White House to act unilaterally, given that Biden had previously said there was no legal path forward for a further extension.

The new eviction moratorium is designed to protect renters in areas where community transmission rates are reaching “high or substantial” levels, and the Biden administration now appears to be focusing on distributing $46.5 billion in emergency rental assistance as fast as possible.

“By the time it gets litigated, it will probably give additional time while we’re getting that $45 billion out to people behind on rent,” Biden said last week, in reference to the moratorium’s legal challenges.

Read the original article on Business Insider

August 4, 2021

A Trump economic official said that ‘the best way to make people homeless is to make housing free’

Housing Advocates Boston Eviction Moratorium Sign — Housing activists gathering in Massachusetts in October.
Michael Dwyer/AP Photo

The Biden administration and the CDC enacted a new, limited eviction ban on Tuesday.
The new ban could help keep many Americans in their homes in areas hit hard by the Delta variant.
But conservatives said they fear the new order will keep developers from building more amidst a historic housing shortage.
See more stories on Insider’s business page.

Conservatives, including a former Trump economic official, worry that the new eviction ban implemented by the Biden Administration on Tuesday could lead to less housing getting built, as millions of Americans prepared to be forced out of their homes amidst an ongoing pandemic.

These worries come after the Biden administration announced a new targeted ban on evictions just days after a federal pandemic-era eviction moratorium lapsed, leaving seven million renters at risk of getting kicked out.

Casey Mulligan, the former chief economist for the White House Council of Economic Advisers during the Trump administration, told the Washington Post that allowing a longer reprieve for people behind on paying rent would mean fewer funds to developers and could disincentivize them building more. The US is currently in a housing crisis because it doesn’t have enough homes to meet prospective buyers’ demand.

“There’s an old expression that the best way to make people starve is to make food free. The best way to make people homeless is to make housing free,” Mulligan told the Washington Post.

Biden’s new measure isn’t as encompassing as the eviction moratorium that was in place during the pandemic. It’ll focus on areas that have high levels of COVID transmission, and it expires October 3. But it does serve to provide relief for some renters who faced losing their homes as the Delta variant continues to surge throughout the US. The order targets areas that are experiencing “substantial” or “high” levels of covid transmission – which the CDC order says was true of over 80% of counties on August 1.

“This moratorium is the right thing to do to keep people in their homes and out of congregate settings where COVID-19 spreads,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement, adding, “Such mass evictions and the attendant public health consequences would be very difficult to reverse.”

The order will be dropped in impacted areas when infections reach “controllable levels” for 14 consecutive days, or on October 3, whichever comes first (unless infections start spiking again), Insider’s Azmi Haroun and Joseph Zeballos-Roig reported.

But some conservatives are arguing that the new order could also worsen the ongoing housing shortage by shortchanging housing developers. Developers have been building more new rental homes recently, but President Biden himself recently met with homebuilders and unions to discuss the current short-squeeze.

As Insider’s Ben Winck reported, there is an ongoing housing crisis – but it’s one that centers more on homeowners and affordability. Inventory has been and continues to remain tight, and it’s filtering in to the rental market and jacking up prices.

But letting the eviction moratorium lapse might actually exacerbate the current housing situation, Insider’s Taylor Borden reports. According to US Census Bureau data, 7.4 million households were behind on rent; if they’re forced out, their units might open up to prospective renters – but it also means millions of newly evicted renters will be scrambling to find housing.

And more affordable housing might still be far off: While the Biden administration included affordable housing in its initial infrastructure proposal, it doesn’t seem to have made it into the bipartisan proposal.

Read the original article on Business Insider

August 3, 2021

Biden to announce a 60-day limited eviction ban that could cover the vast majority of renters

US President Joe Biden speaks on the economy at Cuyahoga Community College Manufacturing Technology Center, on May 27, 2021, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images

Biden is poised to announce a new, limited eviction moratorium after coming under intense pressure from progressives.
It will stretch for 60 days and expire on Oct. 3.
It could protect 90% of all renters across the country.
See more stories on Insider’s business page.

The Biden administration is poised to announce a limited eviction ban after coming under immense pressure from progressives to act in recent days.

A person familiar with the new policy from the White House said it would be a 60-day federal eviction freeze targeted at areas with surging infections from the Delta variant. They said it would cover 80% of all counties and 90% of the renter population.

The exact details of the initiative still were not clear. A federal eviction ban expired on Saturday, threatening over six million renters with the loss of their homes.

President Joe Biden indicated the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would unveil more details later on Tuesday, but conceded it may face legal challenges. “Any call for a moratorium based on the Supreme Court’s recent decision is likely to face obstacles,” he said at a news conference.

It comes after a group of progressive Democrats led by Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri waged a five-day sit-in at the steps of the Capitol.

Bush slept outside the past four nights, along with a group of protesters to demand an extension of the eviction moratorium that ended over the weekend. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders showed their support for the protesters on Monday.

This story will be updated.

Read the original article on Business Insider

August 1, 2021

AOC blames ‘conservative Democrats’ and Biden administration inaction on failure to extend eviction moratorium

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Sunday blamed members of her own party for allowing the federal eviction moratorium to expire.
AOC said the Biden administration should’ve acted more quickly in directing Congress to act.
“We cannot in good faith blame the Republican Party when House Democrats have the majority,” she said during a CNN interview.
See more stories on Insider’s business page.

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Sunday blamed a “handful of conservative Democrats” and the Biden administration’s inaction for creating panic and allowing the federal eviction moratorium to expire.

“There were a handful of conservative Democrats that threatened to get on planes rather than hold this vote, and we have to really just call a spade a spade,” Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive Democrat, said Sunday during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“We cannot in good faith blame the Republican Party when House Democrats have the majority,” she added.

The White House on Thursday said it would not renew the federal eviction moratorium, citing a recent Supreme Court ruling that said Congress must take action to renew it. The Biden administration called on Congress to act just before its recess, leaving Democrats in both chambers scrambling to pass legislation.

-The Recount (@therecount) August 1, 2021

The ban on evictions was enacted at the start of the pandemic in the US in March 2020. According to data from the US Census Bureau data, 7.4 million households in the US are behind on rent as of last month, meaning millions now face eviction from landlords looking to recoup lost rent.

The House failed to pass a bill to extend the moratorium Friday before lawmakers went into its recess that will last until September, as Insider previously reported. Following its failure to pass legislation, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and top Democrats blamed Republicans for posing roadblocks to the extension.

But other Democrats, including California Rep. Maxine Waters, Ocasio-Cortez, and Missouri Rep. Cori Bush expressed disappointment with their own party.

“I just thought we should’ve fought harder,” Waters, a California Democrat, told reporters.

Bush, also a progressive, blasted her own party on Saturday, saying “some Democrats went on vacation” instead of staying in DC to pass the moratorium extension.

“Now, there is something to be said for the fact that this court order came down on the White House a month ago, and the White House waited until a day before the House adjourned to release a statement asking on Congress to extend the moratorium,” Ocasio-Cortez said Sunday.

“We asked the Biden administration about their stance and they were not really being really forthright about that advocacy and that request until the day before the House adjourned,” she added.

Ocasio-Cortez called on her fellow members of the House to reconvene to vote to extend the moratorium.

Read the original article on Business Insider

July 31, 2021

Women, people of color, and low-income families face the highest risk of being forced out of their homes as the eviction moratorium comes to an end

Eviction Moratorium Activists Massachusetts Signs DOJ — Housing activists erect a sign in front of Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s house in Swampscott, Mass.
Michael Dwyer/AP Photo

With the eviction moratorium likely coming to an end Saturday, millions of renters are expected to be plunged into housing disarray.
About 73 percent of renters likeliest to be evicted are people of color. About 56 percent are women.
More than half of the likeliest people vulnerable to eviction make less than $25,000 in total household income.
See more stories on Insider’s business page.

The eviction moratorium is expected to end on July 31, after Congress failed to renew it before heading into recess until mid-September. Once the moratorium expires, about 7.4 million Americans will risk getting evicted in the next coming months, according to Census Pulse Survey Data.

Women, people of color, and low-income households are the most vulnerable groups of renters who will be exposed to the consequences brought on by the end of the eviction moratorium. These three groups are believed to have the likeliest chance of being forced to leave their homes within the next two months, Census household data projects.

About 1.4 million renters are very likely to be kicked out of their homes in the next two months, the data says. According to Insider calculations:

About 73 percent of the 1.4 million renters likely to be evicted are people of color.
About 56 percent of the 1.4 million are women.
And about 76 percent have an annual household income of less than $50,000 a year. More than half of the 1.4 million make less than $25,000 in total household income.

Additionally, about 20% of the 1.4 million have at least some difficulty hearing, and about 50% have at least some difficulty seeing.

Once the moratorium ends, these groups of people have the highest risk of being evicted from their homes.

Last year, US Census data showed evidence that people of color more frequently faced evictions than white tenants did.

Women on average face 16% higher rates of eviction than men, a 2020 study by the Eviction Lab said. When broken down by race, the difference is even more drastic.

Between 2012 and 2016, the study says, Black women were evicted about 36 percent more often than Black men.

“There’s the dynamic intersection between poverty and race,” Shamus Roller, executive director of the National Housing Law Project, an organization that aims to advance housing justice for poor people and communities, previously told Insider.

Researchers say there are several reasons why women might be evicted at higher rates than men.

One study, for example, found that men have a tendency to share personal conflicts like a job loss or health issue with their landlord directly while women generally keep to themselves, especially when either group deals with predominantly male landlords.

“The interaction between predominantly male landlords and female tenants,” that same study says, is “a culprit and often turns on gender dynamics.”

And in general, single mothers are more vulnerable to economic disadvantages and financial difficulties.

Read the original article on Business Insider

July 31, 2021

Progressive Cori Bush says ‘some Democrats went on vacation instead’ of preventing the eviction moratorium from expiring

Rep. Cori Bush on Saturday accused Democrats of leaving for vacation before passing legislation that would have renewed the eviction moratorium.
About 7.4 million Americans are at risk of eviction in the next two months after the moratorium ends July 31.
The House failed to pass a bill that would have extended the moratorium and members are now on recess until August.
See more stories on Insider’s business page.

Rep. Cori Bush slammed Democrats, saying they decided to take a recess ahead of the upcoming eviction moratorium deadline, potentially plunging millions of renters into a state of disarray.

“We could have extended it yesterday, but some Democrats went on vacation instead,” Bush, a progressive representative from Missouri, said on Twitter Saturday morning.

“We slept at the Capitol last night to ask them to come back and do their jobs. Today’s their last chance. We’re still here,” she added, including a picture of her and several activists outside the Capitol building.

-Joseph Zeballos-Roig (@josephzeballos) July 31, 2021

Hours after failing to pass a bill that would have extended the eviction moratorium, the House on Friday entered a recess that’ll last until August.

The eviction moratorium, set up in September 2020 in response to the financial devastation brought on by the coronavirus, was extended in June by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The White House encouraged Congress to extend the moratorium past July, giving guidance to do so at the last minute. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement that the Biden administration would have “strongly supported” the CDC in a decision to renew the moratorium. But a Supreme Court ruling specified that the decision to renew required congressional approval, the White House statement said.

Democrats unanimously voted to pass the bill, but Republican House members blocked the legislation.

After the bill failed, top Democrats expressed their disappointment in a statement.

“It is extremely disappointing that House and Senate Republicans have refused to work with us on this issue,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and House Majority whip James Clyburn after the vote failed. “We strongly urge them to reconsider their opposition to helping millions of Americans and instead join with us to help renters and landlords hit hardest by the pandemic and prevent a nationwide eviction crisis.”

Once the moratorium expires on July 31, about 7.4 million Americans will risk eviction in the next two months. That translates to about 16% of all renters, according to Census Pulse Survey Data.

Read the original article on Business Insider