United States: end of moratorium on evictions raises fears of housing crisis

On July 31, 2021, demonstrators came to the Capitol to protest the end of the moratorium on tenant evictions.

REUTERS - ELIZABETH FRANTZ

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

A major housing crisis is looming in the United States, as the moratorium on tenant evictions expired this Saturday night at midnight.

As a result of the pandemic, the US health authorities had implemented this ban on evicting tenants for unpaid rent last September.

Publicity

Read more

With our correspondent in the United States

,

Carrie Nooten

With the

Delta variant

threatening

the United States

more and more, the Biden administration would have liked to be able to extend the moratorium on evictions. But his hands are tied: the Supreme Court said last month that only Congress has the power to extend this eviction suspension measure put in place in September 2020 by the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) , the main public health agency of the United States, then extended several times in the name of the fight against the spread of Covid-19. But on Friday, July 30, the Democrats in the House of Representatives in favor of expanding the system were blocked.

Since then, American political leaders have passed the buck: the Democrats attack the Republicans, who blame President Joe Biden for his lack of anticipation, when the White House points to the responsibility of the Supreme Court.

3.6 million tenants threatened

Limiting population movements, and therefore contagions, during the pandemic, was however the reason given to prohibit the forced departures of tenants.

So Washington is looking at other solutions.

The Treasury should release a specific additional subsidy fairly quickly.

Eviction for unpaid rent in

New York

, Washington, or California

will still be prohibited for a few months

.

Analysts still estimate that two million Americans have managed to keep their homes thanks to the moratorium and expect thousands of evictions as of Monday as well as the biggest housing crisis the United States will experience. since the Great Depression.

Some 3.6 million tenants think they risk being evicted within two months, according to a study by the statistics office carried out in early July with 51 million tenants.

Newsletter

Receive all international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

• United States

• Lodging

• Economy

• Coronavirus