Wave of Evictions Expected As Moratoriums End In Many States
Source: AP News
By Regina Garcia Cano and Michael Casey, today.
BALTIMORE (AP) — Kelyn Yanez used to clean homes during the day and wait tables at night in the Houston area before the coronavirus. But the mother of three lost both jobs in March because of the pandemic and now is facing eviction.
The Honduran immigrant got help from a local church to pay part of July’s rent but was still hundreds of dollars short and is now awaiting a three-day notice to vacate the apartment where she lives with her children. She has no idea how she will meet her August rent.
“Right now, I have nothing,” said Yanez, who briefly got her bar job back when the establishment reopened, but lost it again when she and her 4-year-old daughter contracted the virus in June and had to quarantine. The apartment owners “don’t care if you’re sick, if you’re not well. Nobody cares here. They told me that I had to have the money.”
Yanez, who lives in the U.S. illegally, is among some 23 million people nationwide at risk of being evicted, according to The Aspen Institute, as moratoriums enacted because of the coronavirus expire and courts reopen. Around 30 state moratoriums have expired since May, according to The Eviction Lab at Princeton University. On top of that, some tenants were already encountering illegal evictions even with the moratoriums...
Read more: https://apnews.com/833d91877e2f0fa913c5258978a9e83c
Tenants are now explaining how the coronavirus epidemic upended their lives in crowded courtrooms, or appearing virtually. Cases include low- income families who have been through evictions before, and numbers of wealthier families who face homelessness for the first time. They will resettle in overcrowded and sometimes dangerous shelters in the middle of the pandemic.
In the next weeks the crisis will get worse according to experts. There are 30 million people currently unemployed, the extra $600 in weekly unemployment benefits expired Friday, and action by Congress on extending the benefits is stalled and unknown at this point.
On July 25, the federal eviction moratorium expired for 12 million renters living in federally subsidized apartments or units with federally backed mortgages. If the moratorium is not extended, landlords can initiate the eviction process in 30 days.
- Natasha Blunt poses for a portrait New Orleans, Friday, July 31, 2020. Blunt owes thousands of dollars in back rent after she lost her banquet porter job. She has yet to receive her stimulus check and has not been approved for unemployment benefits. Her family is getting by with food stamps and the charity of neighbors. (AP Photo, Dorthy Ray).
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Not all landlords are as rich as Kushners and Trumps. For many, the properties represent retirement income.
But, have no fear, the Trumps and Kushners are doing just fine.
