Experts predict that a housing crisis like we’ve never seen before is on the horizon due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On Monday the House passed a bill to provide emergency financial relief to homeowners and tenants in order to keep people housed throughout the pandemic.
The Emergency Housing Protections and Relief Act of 2020 distributes $100 billion to emergency rental assistance programs, creates a $75 billion relief fund for homeowners, and extends the eviction and foreclosure moratorium created by the CARES Act through March 2021. The bill is in the Senate, but is not expected to pass.
The latest U.S. Census Bureau survey indicates that 30% of households are not confident that they can pay their next rent payment. Because of this, housing experts are pushing for emergency rental assistance and rent cancellation during the pandemic as eviction bans are expiring.
“Currently, the CARES Act bans evictions in federally financed housing, covering around a quarter of renters. Aside from that, eviction bans vary by state and even city, creating a hodgepodge of policies across the country. Warren’s bill would create a single moratorium nationwide that applies to all renters.”