For American renters, a new, looming deadline is approaching. A federal eviction moratorium, listed in the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stimulus Act) passed back in March, is about to expire. When the moratorium expires, more than 20 percent of the 110 million American renters could be at risk of losing their homes by September 30.
The CARES Act is thought to have helped anywhere between 12 and 23 million Americans. Unfortunately, it has expired on July 25, and evictions can begin as soon as August 24 if no new legislation is passed by Congress.
Since the Great Recession of 2008, over 10 million Americans have been evicted from their homes, a number comparable to the population of Michigan. Unfortunately, millions more are at risk of losing their homes, and what was once America’s worst housing crisis is about to get even worse.
As we all know, one of the best ways to curb the spread of COVID-19 is to stay at home and quarantine yourself from other people. Now, more than 20 million low-income Americans will be at a heightened risk of contracting the disease should they be forced to leave their homes. Considering that these people have most likely lost their jobs, and with it, their health insurance, it is exceedingly likely that COVID-19 will take a huge toll on these people.
In addition, no matter how long the moratorium is extended, thousands are still growing deep in debt, rendering them unable to pay for basic utilities, rent, or quality food. These people will almost certainly be evicted as soon as eviction moratoriums are lifted.
Luckily, though, there is still some light at the end of the tunnel for those on edge of being evicted. As this post is being drafted, heated negotiations are occurring on Capitol Hill, with Democrats pushing for a major extension to the eviction moratorium. Although the GOP’s latest coronavirus relief proposal, the HEALS Act (Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection, and Schools Act) doesn’t include such an extension, it is likely that we would see Democrats adding something similar to the bill.
But if Congress stalls, according to the Census Bureau, at least 24 million Americans may be on the verge of losing their homes. This will result in a widespread, devastating crisis to those unable to pay for their homes.
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YOUR CORONAVIRUS REMINDER:
There are 4,712,945 (+47,335) total coronavirus cases (1,513,446 recovered) and 155,398 total fatalities in the United States as of August 3, 2020.
Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Practice social distancing (six feet distance). Avoid crowds. Help save lives.
Note: On 7/24/20, we changed our source for COVID-19 data to use official data from the COVID Tracking Project and Johns Hopkins University. This resulted in an approximate -100,000 total case change and a -3,000 death change, as the data from the aforementioned sources, though more accurate, are updated less frequently than the previous source. This also resulted in our data differing from the data provided by the coronavirus tracker widget below. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.