Millions of Americans Are Facing The Possibility of Eviction As Pandemic Protections Dry Up and Rents Go Up
As the post-pandemic era sets in and government assistance dries up, eviction filings around the US are surging.
Legal Services Corp, a federally-funded legal aid group, has been tracking eviction filings in 1,059 counties and saw that the number is on the rise and over historical averages in half of these counties in either August or September.
Housing advocates, government officials, and industry experts agree that the situation is just about to take a turn for the worse as people try to keep up with record-breaking inflation and rising rents without federal assistance.
“Now that rental assistance is over, and now that local moratoriums are over, we’re playing catch-up to what the pandemic did, and my biggest fear is the cliff that we’ve been all anticipating is here. From here on out, it’s going to be a very, very difficult time,” Tim Thomas, research director at the Urban Displacement Project at the University of California, Berkeley, told NBC News. “I don’t want to be a doom and gloom person, but we’re probably about to see the worst of what’s about to happen.”
A census survey from mid-October found that close to 7.8 million Americans are behind on their rent in October, and 3 million believe that they are likely to get evicted in the next two months. The survey also found that 2.5 million are paying, or trying to pay for, rents that have increased by more than $500 over the past year.
Rent prices have started to show signs of cooling down, but only to correct slightly coming from a heartbreaking average increase of 20% at the beginning of the year. A Rent.com analysis in October places the national median rent price at $2,002, compared to $1,840 at the same time last year.
Information for this briefing was found via NBC News, Rent.com, United States Census Bureau, and the sources and companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
