WHAT A DEMOCRATIC-CONTROLLED CONGRESS COULD MEAN FOR RENTERS STRUGGLING AMID THE PANDEMIC.
A
n estimate has put America’s rental arrears at about $70 billion, with one in five adults being behind on their rent payments after months of widespread unemployment and business shutdowns. This clearly demonstrates the miserable state of the struggling renters amid the persisting pandemic period. Could the situation improve under a Democrats-dominated Congress? With Democrats gathering a majority in the US Senate, several relief programs targeted at struggling renters amid the pandemic— including a right to counsel for those facing eviction and a larger share of funds for back rent— stand a better chance to come about. “Democrats have a rare opportunity to directly and swiftly end the eviction crisis and prevent severe harm to renters and landlords nationwide,” said Emily Benfer, a visiting law professor at Wake Forest University. Democrats’ efforts to protect both renters and tenants were visible even in early 2020. One perfect example is the recent deal on another stimulus package struck in December 2020 by Democrats and Republicans after months of negotiations. The stimulus package extends the national eviction ban through January 2021 and allocates $25 billion for rental assistance, representing only a sliver of what Democrats were pushing for.
fees. Another $75 billion fund would be allocated to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. The stimulus package would also ban evictions nationwide for 12 months. Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris introduced a bill when she was a senator in July 2020 that would introduce a ban on all evictions and foreclosures for 12 months. The bill would also renters who are 18 months behind to come up with their missed payments and bar rent increases and late penalties in the meantime. Elsewhere, a study in New Orleans established that more than 65% of tenants with no legal representation were evicted, compared with less than 15% of those who had a legal representation in court. The Harris’s bill has also come to the rescue of this situation. Under the plan, renters facing evictions would be guaranteed a right to counsel, something housing advocates have been pushing for a long. “Unlike most eviction prevention measures, the bill includes AG subpoena and enforcement authority and guarantees tenants the right to legal counsel,” Benfer said of Harris’s plan.
Moreover, as the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden is also in a position to help renters through executive action, where need be. In other words, there is a lot of hope and trust in Back in May 2020, Democrats laid out a vision for the new administration to make the situation better a stimulus plan, known as the Heroes Act, which President Joe Biden declared he would support. The across the nation. stimulus plan would allocate $100 billion for rental Work cited. assistance, which would allow tenants to use that https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/06/a-democratic-controlledmoney for up to six months of back rent and late senate-could-bring-more-relief-for-renters-.html. 16
l
THE POWER IS NOW MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2021
