We need #RentReliefNow! Between 19 and 23 million renters may be evicted due to the pandemic and its economic fallout. The eviction moratoriums on federally backed apartments expired on July 24, statewide protections are quickly ending, and the August rent is already past-due. Additionally, people experiencing homelessness are at high risk of contracting the virus, becoming very ill or dying, and potentially spreading COVID-19. Renters and people experiencing homelessness cannot wait. Contact your members of Congress TODAY and tell them that it is unconscionable and unacceptable to allow people to remain unhoused or to lose their homes during this pandemic!
Take Action Today
- Contact your senators and representative today and tell them that the Senate proposal is unacceptable and that Congress must pass the essential housing provisions of the HEROES Act. Find the phone numbers of your members of Congress here or send an email!
- Use NLIHC’s Advocacy Toolkit to urge Congress to take immediate action to ensure housing stability.
- Call out the need for #RentReliefNow on social media, using our sample social media posts and images. Tag your member of Congress and demand action!
- Publish op-eds and letters to the editor in your local papers using NLIHC’s media toolkit here.
Background
While the Senate Republican proposal for the next coronavirus relief package would do next to nothing to stem the tide of evictions that has already begun, your advocacy is having an impact. Democratic leaders are continuing to focus on the threat of evictions and prioritize solutions to keep people housed, and in our meetings with Hill staff we are hearing from more Republican members of Congress about the need for emergency rental assistance. President Trump even called for a short-term extension of the federal eviction moratoriums, and while this is insufficient, his statement marks the first time the president has acknowledged the looming eviction crisis. Policymakers are feeling pressure to act.
We are making progress, but much work still lies ahead of us to ensure that renters with the lowest incomes and people experiencing homelessness are protected!
Congress must pass essential housing and homelessness protections in the HEROES Act, including NLIHC’s top priorities: a national, uniform moratorium on all evictions for nonpayment of rent; $100 billion in emergency rental assistance through the “Emergency Rental Assistance and Rental Market Stabilization Act;” $11.5 billion to help address the health and housing needs of people experiencing homelessness; and at least $13 billion in additional resources to ensure housing stability.
Contact your members of Congress now!
Thank you for your essential advocacy.