Tag: renters

Renters Asking: Where Do We Go? Affordable Housing In The US Is Increasingly Scarce
IMPACT, IN OTHER NEWS

Renters Asking: Where Do We Go? Affordable Housing In The US Is Increasingly Scarce

The United States is facing an expanding gap between how much workers earn and how much they have to pay for housing. Workers have faced stagnant wages for the past 40 years. Yet the cost of rent has steadily increased during that time, with sharp increases of 14% to 40% over the past two years. Now, more than ever, workers are feeling the stress of the affordable housing crisis. While I was conducting research in economically hard-hit communities from Appalachia to Oakland, California, for my recent book, published in November 2021, nearly every person I met was experiencing the painful reality of being caught between virtually stagnant wages and rising housing costs. As a sociologist, I had expected that low-wage workers would struggle with the cost of housing. I did not expect to m...
Landlords Continued To Find Ways To Kick Renters Out Even With The Eviction Moratorium
SOCIETY

Landlords Continued To Find Ways To Kick Renters Out Even With The Eviction Moratorium

SOCIETY Matthew Fowle, University of Washington and Rachel Fyall, University of Washington Millions of renters in the U.S. lost a key protection keeping them in their homes on Aug. 26, 2021, with a Supreme Court ruling ending a national moratorium on eviction. The federal stay on evictions was put in place during the coronavirus pandemic to protect renters falling behind on monthly payments and therefore in danger of needing to stay at homeless shelters or with friends or relatives. This pandemic response was designed to keep tenants in their housing, prevent overcrowding in shelters and homes, and reduce the spread of COVID-19. In early August, 7.9 million renter households reported being in arrears, with 3.5 million saying they were at risk of eviction within two months. The large n...
3 Essential Reads About The CDC’s Expiring Moratorium As Millions Of Renters Face Eviction And Homelessness
Journalism

3 Essential Reads About The CDC’s Expiring Moratorium As Millions Of Renters Face Eviction And Homelessness

Bryan Keogh, The Conversation The White House and city officials across the country are scrambling to avoid an eviction crisis. The federal housing eviction moratorium that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put in place in September 2020 expires on July 31, 2021. After that, millions of Americans who owe tens of billions of dollars in unpaid rent will lose that protection and may face eviction and a loss of their homes. Meanwhile, a group of landlords is suing the U.S. government to recover damages it says its members suffered from not being able to evict tenants who didn’t pay rent. Although Congress allocated more than $46 billion for emergency rental aid, most of it hasn’t reached many of the people who need it as state and local governments struggle to distribute the mo...