by Roshan Abraham
This story was originally published at Prism.
America’s worsening housing crisis has touched every part of the country in recent years. The pandemic ushered in a brief reprieve for many renters through federal relief and eviction moratoria, which reduced evictions nationwide compared to pre-pandemic levels. But with federal funds dwindling and national and local eviction moratoria ending, many jurisdictions are seeing evictions spike to pre-pandemic levels.
Median rents in Manhattan were at an all-time high of $4,150 in July. San Francisco, Miami, and Washington, D.C., are also seeing unprecedented rent hikes. Rents aren’t just skyrocketing in big coastal cities but across the country: A study found Boise, Idaho, is the least affordable housing market in the U.S., with rents 72% above what’s considered affordable for a median-income family.
Evictions and the threat of eviction disproportionately impact Black and Latinx renters: A poll from NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that evictions had returned to pre-pandemic levels. Three percent of Black renters said they had been evicted in the past year, and 13% had been threatened with eviction—almost double the percentage of white renters. Among Latinx renters, 2% had been evicted, and 8% had been threatened with eviction.
Though much of the pandemic safety net is evaporating, there is some good news for renters: Cities have used the past two years to experiment with eviction prevention strategies, and housing advocates have spent the past few years mapping out what a sustainable, life-enriching housing system could look like. The result is pockets of hard-won victories that could shape low-income and working people’s lives years to come.
