猫咪社区

The White House and city officials across the country .

The federal housing eviction moratorium that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put in place in September 2020 . After that, millions of Americans  in unpaid rent will lose that protection and may face eviction and a loss of their homes. Meanwhile, a group of landlords  to recover damages it says its members suffered from not being able to evict tenants who didn鈥檛 pay rent.

Although Congress allocated  for emergency rental aid, most of it hasn鈥檛 reached many of the people who need it because state and local governments struggle to distribute the money.  relief is available.

We鈥檝e been following the issue throughout the pandemic and picked three articles from our archive to get you up to speed.

1. Housing Insecurity Is a Preexisting Condition

Millions of Americans  when the COVID-19 pandemic forced lockdowns across the country in March 2020, while  to put food on the table or pay the rent.

But even before the crisis, tens of millions of people , according to University of Michigan professors  and . As of 2018, an estimated 38 million, or over a quarter, of U.S. households spent at least 30% of their income on housing-related expenses. About 12 million spent half their income, making it hard if not impossible to afford other essentials such as food and health care.

The CDC moratorium and similar eviction bans in states and cities across the nation have helped low-income Americans endure the pandemic, but these solutions were always going to be short term, Mehdipanah and Sallabank explain.

鈥淲hile these interventions have reduced a source of anxiety and stress for households, they are temporary,鈥� the scholars write. 鈥淥nce they expire, these people will still have the same debts, same housing costs, and the same bleak financial picture.鈥�

Read more: 

2. Evictions Rising in Some States

While the federal moratorium has ensured some renters don鈥檛 lose their homes, many others haven鈥檛 been so lucky as .

For example, in Idaho, which didn鈥檛 have a statewide eviction ban, evictions fell in April and May 2020 as most courts closed because of local lockdowns. But when courts reopened, evictions headed back toward 2019 levels. Other states and cities also saw eviction spikes after bans expired.

As coronavirus relief funds run out and the CDC eviction ban expires, more renters throughout the country , argue  and , who research housing issues at Boise State University.

鈥淭hose households may still be feeling the pressure from the pandemic鈥攁nd may not be able to come up with current rent, much less months of back rent they might also owe,鈥� they write. 鈥淭he aid may be coming to an end, but the potential for an eviction crisis remains鈥攊n Idaho, and around the nation.鈥�

Read more: 

3. Eviction Courts Favor Landlords

Before landlords can evict a renter, they first must take them to court.

, explains , a law professor and director of the Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic at the University of Memphis.

States created eviction courts to offer landlords a 鈥渟ummary process鈥� to ensure cases are handled very quickly鈥攕ometimes in less than a week. As a result, the odds are 鈥渟tacked heavily in favor of landlords,鈥� she writes.

鈥淭enants who go through eviction court not only could lose their homes, but the final judgment also becomes a black mark on their credit reports, making it more difficult for them to obtain safe and affordable housing in the future,鈥� Ramsey Mason writes. 鈥淭he current court process is not designed to account for these consequences, especially on the mass scale resulting from the pandemic.鈥�

Read more: 

Editor鈥檚 note: This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the . The story is a roundup of articles from The Conversation鈥檚 archives. It has been edited for 猫咪社区! Magazine.