Millions of Americans are at risk of becoming homeless after the COVID-era eviction moratorium expired over the weekend.
Current Events
When the coronavirus hit and shut down the entire world in March of 2020, millions of Americans were immediately forced out of work and left without a regular income. For those who were lucky and had a small saving account as a cushion, those funds dried up quickly. For others who were less fortunate, they were left with the impossible choice of choosing to pay rent or eat food.
Understandably, most chose the latter.
Fortunately, the federal government stepped in quickly with an eviction moratorium to prevent landlords and mortgage holders from evicting residents from their apartments and homes for non-payment. However, that eviction moratorium expired last Saturday — leaving millions of Americans tens of thousands of dollars behind in back payments with no way to pay it back all at once.
Although the eviction moratorium was a very necessary life preserver in the midst of a global emergency, it’s also been a double-edged sword.
The rent/mortgage cessation (which was created by the CDC to prevent the further spread of the COVID virus) froze all evictions, foreclosures, and residential legal proceedings and prevented millions of Americans from being dumped into homelessness. However, it also shifted the financial burden to landlords who have still been required to pay for building maintenance, electricity, water, sanitation removal, and (in some cases) property taxes — all without receiving a monthly income of rent or the ability to remove a non-paying tenant and replace them with a paying one.
The original eviction moratorium was set to expire at the end of June, however, President Biden signed an executive order extending it to July 31st. With that date now in our rearview mirrors, Congress would need to step in with a new agreement. Except, the House of Representatives failed last Friday to approve an extension and Congress is on its way out of town for summer recess — leaving millions of Americans at risk of being kicked out onto the street and becoming homeless.
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“We are proud and pleased that, overwhelmingly, House Democrats have understood the hardship caused by rental evictions and support extending the eviction moratorium to October 18, 2021. Unfortunately, not a single Republican would support this measure.” – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Whip James E. Clyburn
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Landlords have already petitioned the courts against the moratorium, arguing that they too have no income and bills to pay. They also pointed out that tenants have access to nearly $47 billion in federal money set aside to help pay rents and related expenses and that those funds should be unlocked and immediately released to them.
Still, as of a few days ago, landlords and mortgage holders now have the legal right to demand all past-due payments PLUS late fees PLUS legal fees from tenants. Without a legislative lifeline from Congress to create a solution, the next few weeks and months could become cataclysmic.
The landlords are absolutely right when it comes to the fact that “nearly $47 billion in federal money set aside to help pay rents and related expenses and that those funds should be unlocked and immediately released to them.” But clearly that’s NOT what’s happening.
So it begs the question WHY isn’t it being done…and with all due haste?!
The federal government (the Biden administration) should’ve stipulated that all tenants meeting eligibility requirements for Approval of said assistance should receive that assistance within a specific time period (i.e. 30 days) from the initial date of application submission.
Somebody’s dragging their feet and holding onto that money. It’s deliberate, cruel and once again a glaring example of the incompetence and (at times) even heartlessness of government.