Millions of Americans who have not paid rent due to the coronavirus pandemic could be at risk of being evicted in the coming months unless government measures to protect them are extended, say economists and housing experts.
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According to weekly data from the Census Bureau, nearly 12 million adults live in households that missed their last rent payment, and 23 million have little or no confidence in their ability to make the next one.
About a third of the country’s tenants are protected by an eviction moratorium that covers properties with federally insured mortgages. That expires July 25. Many tenants are unemployed and dependent on additional weekly unemployment benefits of $ 600 that will end on July 31.
Several cities and states have broader protections that will remain in effect longer. Boston has banned evictions from public housing until the end of the year. Pennsylvania recently extended its moratorium on evictions for nonpayment of rent until August 31.
The White House is negotiating with Republicans and Democrats in Congress to pass another round of economic relief during the last week of July. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the supplemental unemployment benefits have created a disincentive to return to work as the economy begins to reopen and should shrink.
House Democrats voted in May to extend the eviction moratorium to cover all residential homes and extend it by one year. The bill included an extension of improved unemployment benefits and $ 100 billion in rental assistance. The office of Senator Mike Crapo (R., Idaho), chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, declined to comment on any Republican plan to keep people in their homes because negotiations are ongoing.
Paying the rent is a fight for Americans whose jobs evaporated when government-imposed blockades shut down businesses ranging from hair salons and restaurants to shops and fitness centers. More than 18 million people were receiving unemployment insurance in the last week of June.
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“They all had jobs and had economically viable jobs, but we told them they couldn’t work, to protect us, and now we are going to kick them out of their homes,” said Shamus Roller, executive director of the National Housing Bill.
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