Temporary Eviction Restrictions Morphing into Longer Term Reforms
A
fter nine months of concerted advocacy by NAA and other housing organizations, Congress included $25 billion in Rental Assistance funds in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. While this is a legislative victory for struggling housing providers and their residents, it has not dissuaded various housing policy stakeholders from continuing to push eviction moratoria and other temporary pandemic eviction restrictions. These temporary policies are coinciding with longer-term policy proposals to reform state and local eviction processes, changes that would have adverse impacts on the operation and affordability of rental housing. Eviction moratoria have become a ubiquitous feature of government response to COVID-19 in part due to academia’s support. A raft of studies were published at the tail end of 2020 focusing on evictions during COVID19. Taken together, these studies form a dual set of narratives that can be used against the rental housing industry, first suggesting that eviction moratoriums are sound policy that protect residents from displacement and by extension contracting COVID-19. Secondly, these studies suggest that evictions cause housing instability and poverty, especially for low-income renters of color, and therefore should be restricted as much as possible. Both positions have been reflected in reporting from national media outlets like CBS, The Washington Post, The New York Times,
24
Apartment News
and NPR. The first narrative has pushed policymakers to continue relying on eviction moratoria, despite the fact they leave struggling renters accruing insurmountable debt that will eventually become due. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently extended its federal eviction moratorium through March 31, 2021 at the direction of President Biden. The extension means that a federal eviction moratorium has been in place for almost a year in conjunction with various state and local restrictions. That combination continues to produce a patchwork of requirements and constraints that force rental housing providers to absorb and operate under substantial losses. However, the second narrative has greater long-term policy consequences. It implies that rental assistance, in combination with current renter protections, are insufficient to address the ongoing challenges of low-income renters directly affected by the pandemic. Policy proposals included in recentlyintroduced legislation from several state legislatures in January to address this perceived insufficiency fall into five categories. These include: 1. Rent regulation, including rent freezes and rent forgiveness; 2. Just cause eviction restrictions; 3. Eviction diversion programs; 4. Right to counsel; and
www.aaoc.com
March 2021
BY ALEX ROSSELLO, MANAGER OF PUBLIC POLICY, NATIONAL APARTMENT ASSOCIATION
5. Eviction screening restrictions. These proposals were frequently debated before the pandemic, but now lawmakers and renter advocacy groups argue they are needed more than ever.
Adverse Housing Policies Given Renewed Emphasis
An apt example of how this narrative is affecting housing policy can be found in Maryland. Speaking about the recently passed $25 billion in federal rental assistance funds on a virtual meeting hosted by Renters United Maryland, Public Justice Center attorney Zafar Shah articulated what is an increasingly common opinion among renter advocacy groups: “It’s clear that relief money is not effective without a deeper reform of the eviction system and investing in holistic services that serve economically struggling households. We look to making housing justice happen for renters, homeowners and housing providers — to make it a top priority as Maryland builds back better.” That position has been reflected in the five-bill Housing Justice Package introduced in the Maryland state legislature this session. One of those bills is The COVID-19 Eviction and Housing Relief Act. While it provides financial relief for housing providers through a statewide program that matches state and county funds, it would implement a series of adverse emergency renter Reforms — continued on page 26
