As the housing crisis worsens, cities experiment with eviction prevention strategies

by Roshan Abraham

This story was originally published at Prism.

America’s worsening housing crisis has touched every part of the country in recent years. The pandemic ushered in a brief reprieve for many renters through federal relief and eviction moratoria, which reduced evictions nationwide compared to pre-pandemic levels. But with federal funds dwindling and national and local eviction moratoria ending, many jurisdictions are seeing evictions spike to pre-pandemic levels.

Median rents in Manhattan were at an all-time high of $4,150 in July. San Francisco, Miami, and Washington, D.C., are also seeing unprecedented rent hikes. Rents aren’t just skyrocketing in big coastal cities but across the country: A study found Boise, Idaho, is the least affordable housing market in the U.S., with rents 72% above what’s considered affordable for a median-income family.

Evictions and the threat of eviction disproportionately impact Black and Latinx renters: A poll from NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that evictions had returned to pre-pandemic levels. Three percent of Black renters said they had been evicted in the past year, and 13% had been threatened with eviction—almost double the percentage of white renters. Among Latinx renters, 2% had been evicted, and 8% had been threatened with eviction.

Though much of the pandemic safety net is evaporating, there is some good news for renters: Cities have used the past two years to experiment with eviction prevention strategies, and housing advocates have spent the past few years mapping out what a sustainable, life-enriching housing system could look like. The result is pockets of hard-won victories that could shape low-income and working people’s lives years to come.