NLIHC partnered with nine other institutes and organizations to release a report on August 7 indicating that without significant federal intervention, 30-40 million people in the US are at risk of eviction by the end of the year. These findings were developed by researchers from the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program, City Life, the COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project, The Eviction Lab at Princeton University, the Innovation for Justice Program at the University of Arizona College of Law, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, NLIHC, Stout, and Wake Forest University School of Law.
Researchers aggregated findings from the U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey, projected eviction filings, unemployment data, and housing insecurity statistics and found that 29-43% of renter households (30 million to 40 million people) could be at risk of eviction by the end of 2020. Previous research from NLIHC has shown that at least $100 billion in emergency rental assistance and a nationwide moratorium on evictions are necessary to stave off the impending disaster. Without these crucial provisions, millions of renters currently experiencing financial hardship due to coronavirus will face displacement and homelessness on an unprecedented scale.
The risk of eviction is escalating rapidly. According to the Household Pulse Survey, 18% of renters nationally report they were unable to pay July’s rent on time, and 33% have slight or no confidence they can pay August rent on time. Among renter households earning less than $35,000 per year, 42% have slight or no confidence in their ability to pay next month’s rent.
Evictions have significant, negative consequences for renters and communities. Communities of color, and particularly Black and Latinx people, are more likely to be rent-burdened and more likely to have been affected by coronavirus-related job loss, making them particularly vulnerable to housing instability during the pandemic – nearly half of Black (42%) and Latinx (49%) renters surveyed have slight or no confidence in their ability to pay next month’s rent on time, compared to 22% of white renters.
The impending eviction crisis is entirely preventable. Congress should move with urgency to enact meaningful housing provisions and resources in the next coronavirus relief bill, including providing $100 billion in rental assistance and enacting a national, uniform moratorium on evictions.
Read the research report at: https://tinyurl.com/y38caw96