Headline Roundup • August 10th, 2020

Perspectives: A Potential Eviction Crisis in America

Coronavirus,Evictions,Economy And Jobs,Life During Covid-19,Housing And Homelessness

Summary from the AllSides News Team

According to a National Low Income Housing Coalition report released Friday, 30-40 million people in the United States are at risk of eviction, a trend that disproportionately affects black and Hispanic communities. Many eviction moratoriums, implemented by local governments and the CARES Act during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, have expired. On Saturday, President Donald Trump directed the Treasury and Housing and Urban Development departments to identify funds to help renters, and directed the Federal Housing Finance Agency to review existing authorities that could help prevent evictions. Many voices on all sides warned about the eviction crisis and advocated for various policy solutions. Right-rated voices tended to mention evictions in passing as part of covering the executive actions. Some left-rated voices explored the subject more deeply, and tended to concentrate more on potential consequences for tenants than landlords.

Featured Coverage of this Story

A Wave of Evictions Would Be Bad for Everybody

Bloomberg

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A Wave of Evictions Would Be Bad for Everybody

Bloomberg

Opinion

Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. rental market was in trouble. In 2017, economist Andrew Dumont calculated that 46.8% of U.S. renter households spent more than 30% of their income on housing. Poorer households, unsurprisingly, were even more heavily burdened; in 2015, the lowest-income quintile spent more than half of their income on rent.

Then came the pandemic. Although federal relief managed to support many unemployed workers and distressed businesses, many people fell through the cracks, failing to qualify for special unemployment benefits or bailout funds. And many Americans...

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Republicans warm to tenant protections as evictions loom

Washington Examiner

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Republicans warm to tenant protections as evictions loom

Washington Examiner

News

The White House and a growing number of congressional Republicans support a renewal of the federal evictions moratorium and rental assistance payments in the next economic relief package.

The GOP support is due to the fear of a wave of evictions due to the pandemic downturn. The federal evictions moratorium put in place by the CARES Act relief bill in March expired on July 25.

Approximately 30-40 million people in the United States are at risk of losing their homes in the next several months without significant federal intervention, according...

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The Coming Eviction Crisis: ‘It’s Hard to Pay the Bills on Nothing’

New York Times (Opinion)

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The Coming Eviction Crisis: ‘It’s Hard to Pay the Bills on Nothing’

New York Times (Opinion)

Opinion

In Columbus, Ohio, judges have relocated eviction hearings to the cavernous halls of the city’s convention center, to ensure there’s plenty of space for the grim business of throwing families onto the street.

In New Orleans, piles of personal belongings on sidewalks — “eviction cairns,” in the haunting phrase of Sue Mobley, a member of the city’s planning commission — are an increasingly common sight.

In Savannah, Ga., the county sheriff, John Wilcher, announced at the start of the month that he would begin moving forward with about 500 pending...

Open on New York Times (Opinion)

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