For people facing eviction or foreclosure, the Biden administration has extended moratorium on evictions July 31st.
Emergency assistance is available to speed up the distribution of tens of billions of dollars in emergency rental assistance that was not yet spent. The White House wants state and local courts to adopt anti-eviction diversion programs so delinquent tenants can stay in their homes and avoid legal action.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a historic threat to the nation’s public health. Keeping people in their homes and out of crowded or congregate settings like homeless shelters by preventing evictions is a key step in helping to stop the spread of COVID-19,” the CDC said in a brief statement announcing the extension, reports CBS news
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said, The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a historic threat to the nation’s public health. Keeping people in their homes and out of crowded or congregate settings – like homeless shelters – by preventing evictions is a key step in helping to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Congressman Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01) are leading a group of 41 lawmakers in sending a letter to President Biden and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky urging them to extend and strengthen the federal CDC eviction moratorium beyond its current expiration date of Wednesday, June 30, 2021.
“Without further action, in just eight days, the CDC moratorium will expire, and millions of renters will once again face the threat of eviction. Evictions take lives and push households deeper into poverty, impacting everything from health outcomes to educational attainment,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter. “As workers and families across the country are just beginning to recoup from the trauma and economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we must take all necessary action to protect them from becoming unhoused during this vulnerable time.”
The eviction crisis is a matter of public health, racial, and economic justice. According to the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, Black, Latino, Asian, and Indigenous households are more likely to report being behind on their rental payments. Additionally, communities with lower vaccination rates and higher COVID-19 cases tend to be those at a heightened risk for eviction. Allowing the moratorium to expire would both exacerbate the eviction crisis disproportionately impacting communities of color and potentially lead to an increase in the spread of, and deaths from, COVID-19.
Source Jimmy Gomez California’s 34the district
