Call to Action on Evictions

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, many state and local governments have enacted eviction moratoriums to ensure that residents do not lose their homes in the midst of a pandemic. Many of these moratoriums are set to expire and eviction courts are set to reopen in the coming weeks. The resumption of business as usual as the pandemic and the economic crisis that it has caused continues may bring a tidal wave of evictions. Localities across the country have a narrow window in which to expand tenant protections to prevent potentially thousands of residents from losing their homes. 

In order to stop this disaster, we encourage Local Progress members to take the bold local actions outlined below.

We are encouraging all Local Progress members to act as a network to extend eviction moratoriums, cancel rent and mortgage payments fully, implement rent and eviction freezes, and implement a rent relief packages.

With some housing courts resuming again, it’s estimated that anywhere from 20 million to 28 million American renters are perilously close to eviction. Extending eviction moratoriums is the first and most immediate step localities must take.

Many renters already struggle to keep up with rising rents and any lost income during a public health emergency will further put tenants at risk of eviction. Preventing the spread of the coronavirus means keeping people in secure housing if they need to self-quarantine or take care of family members.

Local leaders should pass and/or extend an emergency eviction moratorium to ensure tenants can stay home during an outbreak without risk of being evicted if they aren’t able to pay rent as a result of lost income.

With COVID-19 cases on the rise again and millions of new unemployment claims filed each week, this pandemic is far from over. And the one-time federal stimulus check of $1200 wasn’t enough to even cover the median rent for a two-bedroom anywhere in this country.

How can people stay home if they can’t make rent or mortgage payments? Local leaders must work to cancel rent and mortgage payments fully with no accumulation of debt and no negative impact on rental history or credit ratings. 

A rent freeze is when a landlord or property owner is prohibited from increasing rent prices within a specific period of time, and an eviction freeze prohibits landlords from evicting a tenant, based on nonpayment of rent in this case, for a specific period of time.

Local leaders can and should implement rent relief package that includes adequate funding, ensures that immigrants have access to the funding, prevents corporate bailout, connects tenant protections to receiving relief and lowers barriers to participation as much as possible. 

More information on these actions and local policy examples can be found here.

We are working with Local Progress members and our partners to compile key resources to share with you on local coronavirus response, which you’ll find bellow. Please stay tuned for more updates to this section on an ongoing basis.