America is facing an eviction crisis. Over 10 million American renters owe back rent. That means 15 percent of adult renters are at risk of eviction — more than three times the pre-pandemic rate.
To put those numbers into context, an estimated 7 million American households experienced eviction during the Great Recession — an economic downtown that lasted five years.
Now, evictions during the pandemic are happening in just a matter of months.
The pandemic hit low wage workers hardest
Those at increased risk of evictions during COVID already had limited financial resources. The pandemic made the situation worse.
“Those who have fallen behind in their rent are among the most vulnerable members of society: more likely to be unemployed, with less income and less education,” stated a Moody’s Analytics report released in January 2021. “Only one in four still has the sources of income they used prior to the pandemic to cover their rent payment and other expenses.”
The unemployment rate in April 2020 jumped to its highest level since the 1930s. Low-wage workers were hit the hardest. The Economic Policy Institute notes that 9.6 million jobs were lost in 2020.
Over 80 percent of these jobs were held by workers in the bottom 25 percent of the wage distribution. A total of 7.9 million low-wage workers found themselves forced out of the labor market entirely.
Eviction risk and food insecurity go hand-in-hand
Moody’s Analytics notes that a third of people who owe back rent also quality for unemployment insurance and food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Participation in SNAP has increased in nearly every state, according to the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey.
The survey also reveals that 18 million adults reported that they “sometimes” or “often” hadn’t had enough to eat in the last week. Of those respondents, 76 percent said this was because they couldn’t afford more food.
The Urban Institute’s Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey reported a nearly 50 percent increase in charitable food usage from 2019 to 2020. Renters who have never experienced food insecurity before are learning how to access nutrition assistance programs during a pandemic.
Many hungry people are children. The Household Pulse Survey reveals that one in five children living in rental housing didn’t have enough to eat. One in three kids lived in households that didn’t have money for food or rent.
“When you see an increase in food insecurity, you see a risk of eviction, too,” said Emily Benfer, law professor at Wake Forest School of Law and Chair of the American Bar Association’s COVID-19 Task Force Committee on Eviction. “People who are at risk of eviction — they’re also struggling to put food on the table, struggling to secure employment, going from appointment to appointment to secure benefits to keep their families safe. That’s a lot of toxic stress that that household is already undergoing.”
Renters of color most at risk for evictions during the pandemic
The pandemic hit the U.S. renters hard. But renters at the greatest risk of evictions during COVID are people of color.
“People who are Black are the most likely to be filed against, followed by the Latinx population,” said Benfer, “Black women are being filed against at the highest rates in proportion to their participation in the rental market.”
The Household Pulse Survey provided more detailed statistics. It states that 22 percent of Black renters, 20 percent of Latino renters, 19 percent of Asian renters and 9 percent of white renters reported they were not caught up on rent.
Eviction risk is higher in certain regions
Renters in certain regions have a higher risk of eviction during COVID. The Moody’s Analytics report stated that “delinquent renters are most likely to live in urban areas in the Northeast corridor and California, and parts of the South with a preponderance of lower income households.”
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) confirms that renters in the south are struggling. Data collected in March 2021 (one year into the pandemic) reveal that 34 percent of respondents from West Virginia were behind on the rent, the highest number in the nation. Mississippi was close behind at 31 percent.
Nine out of the top 10 evicting areas tracked by Princeton’s Eviction Lab are in southern states.
The March CBPP numbers show that renters in other regions are falling behind on rent too. During the same period, 23 percent of renters in Illinois and Indiana said they owed back rent. States as geographically diverse as Alabama, South Dakota and Rhode Island all showed the same rental delinquency rate — 22 percent.
Eviction protection for renters
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention created the CDC eviction moratorium to delay evictions during COVID and stop the spread of the disease. The moratorium currently is extended to June 30, 2021.
Renters who lost their job or a portion of their income during the pandemic should fill out the CDC Eviction Moratorium Declaration Form and give a copy to their landlord. The CDC Eviction Moratorium only delays eviction for the non-payment or partial payment of rent. It’s not a rent forgiveness program — back rent and any related fees will need to be paid in full after the moratorium expires. But it gives renters valuable time to seek help.
The U.S. Government has allocated $52 billion dollars in emergency rental assistance to keep renters in their homes. But renters have to act fast to access these programs and protections.
1. State eviction moratoria
The Eviction Lab at Princeton University monitors eviction rates in 27 cities and five states — about one-fifth of the nation’s rental population. State eviction moratoria provided additional protections for renters, explains Benfer.
“We’re at almost at 300,000 evictions filed during the pandemic,” Benfer said. “And the CDC Moratorium did not suppress filing to the same extent that local and state moratoria did.”
An interactive Regional Housing Legal Services map details state eviction guidelines and program expiration dates. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Apartment Guide Eviction Resource Guide describe eviction protections by state.
But these eviction moratoria don’t always protect renters either. Corporate landlords in Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Nevada and Texas filed over 57,000 new eviction cases after the CDC moratorium went into effect.
Several steps in the eviction process in Nevada and Texas have coverage by statewide eviction moratoria. The other states have no pandemic eviction protections in place.
For states with eviction protection, a renter’s, ZIP code, household composition, employment status and income level will influence the aid they receive.
2. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
Renters protected by state and the CDC eviction moratoria still found themselves experiencing eviction. To stop this process, The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an interim final rule to help keep renters in their homes.
It states that debt collectors who evict tenants who are protected under the moratoria can experience prosecution by federal agencies and state attorneys general for violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).
Landlords may also be subject to private lawsuits by tenants.
3. Emergency Rental Assistance Program
Congress issued $25 billion for rental assistance in December. The American Rescue Plan Act passed in March provided another $27 billion. This Emergency Rental Assistance Program will allocate $52 billion dollars to the state, county and city aid programs in communities with populations of at least 200,000. These programs distribute the rental assistance money to tenants in need.
More than 200 programs are currently distributing aid, although that number fluctuates as programs expire and funding runs out. Demand in Charleston, South Carolina was so high that funding for one program exhausted all options after just six days.
Expect processing delays
Guidance for distributing the March funding is expected to arrive later in the Spring. It will take even longer for the much-needed money to reach renters.
The initial funding rollout was uneven. Some states (and even cities and counties in the same state) distributed aid at very different rates. Benfer noted that states like Michigan and Massachusetts (and cities like Boston and Philadelphia) could assist renters more quickly because they already had systems in place.
“The programs that are the most successful have broad coordination and collaboration between government agencies and community-based organizations,” Benfer said. “Those are probably also the communities that had infrastructure in place before the pandemic. So they’re getting that out much faster than states like Texas, that have never had a statewide rental assistance program in their history.”
Texas created a rental assistance program to distribute federal funds in February. Only 250 out of 72,000 applicants had received payment by the end of March.
Colorado renters began requesting rental assistance in December 2020. The state had processed just 25 percent of rental assistance requests by March 10.
Renters need to act now
Renters at risk of evictions during the pandemic should apply for rental assistance as soon as possible since wait times vary widely. Additional state, federal and local assistance programs can help offset costs. Supplemental food aid can reduce a household’s food bill and dedicate additional dollars toward paying off back rent.
More than 10 million renters are at risk of eviction. The CDC Moratorium and state eviction moratoria temporarily pause evictions for non-payment of rent. The Emergency Rental Assistance Program offers billions of dollars to help households make rent payments. But renters need to act quickly and access every available resource to stay in their homes.
