REPORTAGE
In the United States, the country most affected by the coronavirus pandemic, the economic crisis threatens to turn into a housing crisis. While more than 30 million people have registered as unemployed since mid-March, more and more Americans can no longer pay their rent. In New York, the most expensive city in the country, thousands of tenants have launched a "rent strike" and demand the freezing of payments.
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Dylan, a Frenchman living in the Big Apple, lives with two Americans. Last month, when their landlord knocked on the door to claim rent, they told him they couldn't pay. "My rent is 900 dollars. Since I have lost most of my income, I only have about 200 dollars a month left. So for now, paying my rent is not really possible , because I prefer to buy food, quite simply ", explains Dylan to the microphone of Europe 1.
"We don't have as much social assistance as in France"
Dylan worked in the night world, but all the clubs closed. John, for his part, saw his working hours reduced in his animal hospital. And the third roommate, Stephen, a dog walker, doesn't have many customers anymore. "In the United States, we don't have as much social assistance as in France. When you lose your job, you are left to yourself," says Dylan. "Here, since most of the people in this building have no work, no income at the moment, we decided to organize ourselves to strike a rent strike."
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Advocated by thousands of New Yorkers, this "rent strike" is of a scale never seen since the economic crisis of 1929. But some owners are showing understanding, like Mario Salerno, who manages his little corner of Brooklyn, with his garage and its buildings. He said that he offered his 250 tenants a month, "otherwise many would have become homeless". And to conclude: "This is New York". But this solution is not viable in the long term, which is why owners and tenants ask the mayor and the governor to find a solution.