Reporting
Bloomberg CityLab reports on lawsuits seeking to overturn the CDC moratorium. The article notes NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel’s concerns that landlords seeking to pressure or intimidate renters into leaving sooner will take advantage of the CDC guidance that says landlords may initiate eviction proceedings at any time.
NBC News reports that from September to October 17, large corporate landlords have filed nearly 10,000 evictions in 23 counties in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas. New eviction filings jumped after the CDC released guidance on the moratorium on October 9.
The National Association of Home Builders and a group of Ohio landlords filed a lawsuit on October 23 challenging the CDC eviction moratorium. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, seeks to overturn the federal eviction moratorium.
The Wall Street Journal reports on the emerging rental housing crisis in the U.S., which threatens to evict millions of renters and leave landlords short billions of dollars. The rental housing crisis demonstrates the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on households with children, women, and people of color.
The Washington Post examines how landlords have found loopholes in the CDC national eviction moratorium to evict tenants. Resistance from landlords and the order’s ambiguous wording, which gives local judges room for interpreting the moratorium, have enabled evictions to continue despite the moratorium.
Common Dreams reports that despite the CDC moratorium, and with assistance from the CDC’s new guidance on the order, corporate landlords have ignored the ban and issued eviction notices to thousands of renters. The article cites new data from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, which found large corporate landlords filed 10,000 eviction actions in five states between early September and October 17.
State and Local News
A list of state and local emergency rental assistance programs is available here from NLIHC.
Arkansas
Arkansans impacted by COVID-19 who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless can apply for rental and housing assistance through the state’s COVID-19 Emergency Solutions Grants.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette explains the CDC eviction moratorium, linking to Arkansas Legal Services’ website that has an interactive CDC declaration form and information about accessing free legal assistance.
Arkansas is the only state in the nation that allows landlords to file criminal rather than civil charges against tenants for nonpayment of rent. The law disproportionately impacts female, Black, and low-income renters. ProPublica and the Arkansas Nonprofit News Network report that since mid-March, more than 200 new failure to vacate cases have been filed statewide, and at least seven women were detained or sentenced to jail for not appearing in court.
California
A new report from San Francisco’s Budget and Legislative Analyst estimates that unpaid rent due to COVID-19 could be up to $32.7 million per month for the period April to September 2020. The report warns that existing rental assistance programs are unable to meet the demand: “Unless new programs are adopted at the federal or state level, unpaid rent is likely to increase as long as San Francisco renters remain unemployed due to COVID-19.”
Governor Gavin Newsom on October 23 announced the Joint Legislative Budget Committee has approved the Administration’s request for $200 million in additional funding for Project Homekey, bringing the total funding available to over $800 million. Governor Newsom announced $84.1 million in the sixth round of awards to five applicants for six projects totaling 430 units.
Mercury News reports on some city officials’ reluctance to participate in Project Homekey. After Santa Clara County received a $29.2 million Homekey grant to convert a Milpitas hotel into housing, the Milpitas City Council voted to sue any parties involved in the project. Governor Newsom urged the council members to participate in the project. “I get the pressure you’re under, but you’re going to look back in your life, and you’re going to regret this,” said the governor. “You have an incredible moment in time. It’s a moral damn moment. Do the right thing.”
The California Housing Partnership reports that according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, 59% of Black renters behind on rent in California fear eviction in the next two months, compared with 41% of all California renters behind on rent.
Colorado
The Colorado Division of Housing (DOH) has updated the Landlords’ Model Notification of Eviction Prevention Orders to reflect the protections under the CDC eviction moratorium and the new state protections under Executive Order 227. The DOH also updated its FAQs for Tenants and Landlords.
Connecticut
The New Haven Independent reports that eight weeks after launching an $800,000 COVID-19 rental assistance program, New Haven has not distributed any housing assistance. Since the Coronavirus Assistance and Security Tenant Landlord Emergency (CASTLE) program launched in early September, 378 applications have been sent out, 23 have been filled out and submitted, and 16 applications are under review.
Delaware
The New Castle County Council voted unanimously on October 26 to authorize the county to bid on a Sheraton hotel for sale by auction. The county is seeking to use a portion of the $322.8 million in federal Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) dollars it received to purchase the 192-room hotel to use as an emergency shelter and temporary housing for individuals experiencing homelessness. As many as 634 families are currently housed in a dozen motels in the county while nearly 200 individuals are in emergency shelters.
Florida
The Florida Times-Union Editorial Board argues Congress must pass another federal stimulus package to protect millions of Americans from “homelessness and financial devastation.”
Idaho
The Lewiston Tribune reports that despite federal protections for renters, more than a dozen evictions have occurred in Nez Perce County during the pandemic. Idaho Legal Aid is expecting a wave of evictions if the CDC does not extend the federal eviction moratorium into 2021.
Maine
Nonprofit organizations in Augusta and city staff report receiving surges in calls for assistance from people experiencing homelessness and those on the brink of homelessness. There has been a flood of evictions since Maine’s court system reopened and a state rental assistance program ran out of funds. The need for emergency housing in Augusta is expected to increase amid the ongoing pandemic and the expiration of the state and federal eviction moratoriums at the end of the year.
Maryland
The Baltimore Sun reports that approximately 40 community activists and residents of the Poppleton neighborhood held a rally on October 24 to express outrage that residents who live in public housing and have fallen behind on their rent during the pandemic have been threatened with eviction.
Massachusetts
Dozens of demonstrators rallied outside the Boston Housing Court on October 29 to urge legislators to pass the Guaranteed Housing Stability bill, which would stabilize renters, homeowners, and small landlords for one year. More than 100,000 residents fear eviction after Massachusetts’ eviction and foreclosure moratorium expired on October 17.
NPR reports that despite the CDC eviction moratorium, some Boston landlords are pressuring and intimidating tenants, especially immigrant workers, to move out early. Despite federal and state moratoriums, as many as 120,000 people have been forced from their homes during the pandemic.
After the state eviction moratorium expired and as the pandemic rages on, Boston officials are adding approximately 200 more beds for people experiencing homelessness in multiple locations in preparation for winter.
Minnesota
Advocates organized a demonstration in front of Duluth City Hall on October 26, calling for bold local action to protect the lives and dignity of people experiencing homelessness in Duluth.
Missouri
Missouri advocates are concerned about a surge in evictions when the CDC moratorium and some circuit court orders expire. There are 250 eviction judgments backlogged in St. Louis County, and when the moratoriums are lifted, sheriffs will have to serve those evictions. Despite the CDC moratorium, 470 evictions have been filed in Jackson County, 340 in Green County, and more than 90 in Boone County.
Montana
The Montana Department of Commerce announced a new partnership with the Montana Legal Services Association to launch the Montana Eviction Intervention Project, which will provide civil legal aid to tenants facing eviction. The project is funded by $70,000 in CARES Act funding.
Nevada
Community activists report “horror stories” of people being forced out of their homes since Nevada’s eviction moratorium expired on October 15. “We are in the midst of a burgeoning humanitarian crisis,” said Carmella Gadsen, a local activist. “There are still people being pushed out onto the streets, being forced to bunk up or be roommates in close quarters during a viral pandemic that is disproportionately affecting low-income people of color.”
Despite the CDC eviction moratorium, Nevada landlords are intimidating tenants and pressuring them to move out.
New Jersey
Newark city officials announced that NJ SHARES SMART and the Newark Office of Tenant Legal Services (OTLS) will provide $372,000 in funding to prevent evictions for nonpayment of rent.
New York
The Legal Aid Society and the law firm Jenner & Block filed a lawsuit against New York City on October 22 for failing to provide single occupancy rooms to individuals experiencing homelessness during the pandemic. The lawsuit also charges the city for violating the “Americans with Disabilities Act” by failing to provide reasonable accommodations to all qualifying individuals who request a single room due to their medical condition.
North Carolina
Governor Roy Cooper on October 28 issued Executive Order No. 171 to strengthen eviction protections by requiring landlords to make tenants aware of their rights under the CDC order. The executive order clarifies the CDC moratorium applies to all residents who meet the CDC’s eligibility criteria, regardless of whether they live in federally subsidized properties. The order also ensures recipients of the N.C. Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions (HOPE) program can still qualify for the protections.
Ohio
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and state legislative leaders on October 23 announced how they would allocate $430 million of the approximately $1 billion remaining in its share of the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund. The state will allocate $50 million for mortgage and rental assistance to low-income families.
Attorney Graham Bowman from the Ohio Poverty Law Center says while Governor DeWine’s newly signed rental assistance program will be helpful in the short-term, it will not solve the systemic housing issues. “Predating COVID, there was a major eviction housing crisis in Ohio. I don’t think that’s going to be enough money,” Bowman said. “It’s absolutely critical that we get more assistance at the federal level to address the sheer scale of this problem.”
Cleveland.com discusses the new lawsuit Northern Ohio landlords filed against the CDC eviction moratorium on October 23. The article also mentions that Governor Mike DeWine announced $50 million for rent and mortgage assistance, an action housing advocates have pushed for many months.
Oklahoma
Katie Dilks, executive director of the Oklahoma Access to Justice Foundation, describes Tulsa’s eviction crisis as the city’s “silent public health crisis.” Dilks discusses the CDC eviction moratorium and Tulsa County’s CARES Act-funded rental assistance program.
Oregon
The Oregon Housing and Community Services Department estimates the state could have a shortage of 10,000 shelter beds, compared to the estimated shortage of 5,814 shelter beds identified in the 2019 Oregon Shelter Study.
The first round of application for the Portland COVID-19 Household Assistance Program closed on October 27, but residents can apply for the one-time payments during the second application window on Friday, October 30, at 1pm.
Pennsylvania
The Philadelphia City Council on October 21 failed to advance a bill that would ban all evictions through the end of the year. The court-imposed citywide moratorium on lockouts expires on November 8, and an estimated 2,000 Philadelphia households are at risk of eviction for cases that started before the pandemic.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports thousands of Philadelphia renters could lose their homes in two weeks unless the City Council reinstates an eviction moratorium. Legislation that would reinstate a moratorium failed to advance last week due to disagreements about whether the bill should apply to all renters or only those with a COVID-19-related hardship.
Tennessee
DarKenya Waller, executive director of Legal Aid Society of Middle TN and the Cumberlands, discusses how free legal aid protects individuals who have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Waller describes civil legal aid as a critical component of Tennessee’s front-line response to the pandemic.
Texas
DSA North Texas Housing Justice is a political organization working to ensure tenants understand their rights when it comes to eviction laws. DSA works with a group of citizens called “Dallas Stops Evictions” that has been canvassing apartment complexes distributing information on tenants' rights and the CDC eviction moratorium.
The City of Austin has distributed only $1.3 million of approximately $13 million available for tenants struggling to pay rent due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While approximately 5,600 people have applied for assistance, as of October 22, Austin had paid rent for 1,138 households. Administrative challenges and application barriers slow the distribution of much-needed rental assistance.
Vermont
Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger announced ANEW Place has used $2.5 million of Coronavirus Relief Funds to purchase the Champlain Inn and convert it into a year-round homeless shelter. ANEW Place will also provide guests with onsite services, including case management and assistance finding permanent housing. ANEW Place is Burlington’s only low-barrier shelter.
The deadline to apply to the Vermont State Housing Authority (VSHA) Rental Housing Stabilization Program is December 11. Check out this summary of programs that can help Vermonters remain housed.
Virginia
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that about 50 people gathered outside of a Brookland Park home on October 23 to prevent the landlord and sheriff’s deputies from carrying out an eviction. Advocates helped the tenant submit the CDC declaration required to be protected under the national eviction moratorium and petition for another hearing. A judge ordered the landlord to stop the eviction shortly before deputies were scheduled to carry it out.
Washington
The Washington Department of Commerce launched the Washington COVID-19 Immigration Relief Fund. Immigrants who are not eligible for federal financial relief or unemployment insurance can receive a $1,000 one-time direct payment (up to $3,000 per household). Check out the Partner Outreach Toolkit.
Washington, DC
The DCist reports illegal lockouts, often called “invisible evictions,” are on the rise in the D.C. area amid the ongoing pandemic and its economic fallout. Invisible evictions and self-evictions particularly impact immigrants and other marginalized renters.
Guidance
Department of Housing and Urban Development
New Resources for Distressed Cities Technical Assistance (DCTA) Recipients and Smaller Communities
COVID-19 Homeless System Response: Winter Planning Resources
COVID-19 Homeless System Response: Partnering with Local Public Housing Authorities
COVID-19 Homeless System Response: Summary of ESG Program Waivers and Alternative Requirements
COVID-19 Homeless System Response: Eligible ESG Program Costs for Infectious Disease Preparedness
Internal Revenue Service
November 10: National Economic Impact Payment (EIP) Registration Day