( ENSPIRE News ) 40 million Americans Could be Evicted by the End of This Year
ENSPIRE Contributor: Tyler Burns
According to the report the United States, potentially, could be facing the most severe housing crisis in history if the pandemic persists. Upwards of 43% of renter households face eviction this year.
“As the data demonstrates, the gravity of this situation cannot be overstressed,” said Emily Benfer, a law professor at Wake Forest University School of Law and a co-author of the report. “Unless the federal government invests in eviction prevention, we are not only risking widespread eviction and homelessness, we are guaranteeing negative health outcomes, greater unemployment, educational decline, and long-term harm for renters, property owners, and communities.”
The southern part of the United States is faced with the highest overall risk of evictions. For example, the two highest states are Louisiana at 56% and Mississippi at 58% of their renters being evicted. Upwards of 48% of renters in the state of Alabama are at risk of eviction. Lastly, 45% of renters in Connecticut, Florida, and Georgia are at risk of eviction. This eviction crisis is a very real issue that will be facing America throughout and post coronavirus.
This eviction crisis is disproportionately affecting Black and Latino Americans and it must be acknowledged. They make up about 80% of those facing eviction. For example, last month 25% of Latinos and 26% of Blacks could not afford to pay their rent compared to 13% of white renters. This was all in the report conducted by the Aspen Institute based on US Census data.
“I expect that we are going to see a lot of families thrust into homelessness right as we are starting the school year, which is fraught with complications already,” said Erin O. Planalp, managing attorney at Iowa Legal Aid. “But I hope that we can build on our connections in the community and partner with landlords to try to give people a little more time.”
Thirty states do not have state-level protections against evictions and the federal protections expired on July 24th. According to the Aspen Institutes findings, $100 billion in emergency rental assistance, an extension of unemployment benefits, would help combat the inevitable millions of Americans who will face eviction in the upcoming months.
