News Roundup

  • Biden Announces New Targeted Eviction Moratorium
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    This Tuesday, President Biden instituted a new federal eviction moratorium to replace the one that expired on Saturday. Last week, Biden stated he does not have the legal authority to extend the ban without legislative approval and called on Congress to find a legislative solution. But after receiving pressure from House Democrats, the White House created a new moratorium to ban evictions in counties with high rates of COVID-19 transmission until October 3. It will cover about 90 percent of renters in the country.

  • Howard Students Scramble to Find Affordable Housing
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    Howard University is anticipating a larger-than-average freshman class—about 2,300 students, compared with 1,834 in the fall of 2019. This increase was manageable when learning was remote, but with students returning, there will be a shortage of on-campus housing. The university gives first- and second-year students priority for housing, leaving many upperclassmen scrambling to find housing in a city where the average one-bedroom costs more than $2,000 a month. Howard has tried to help by securing additional beds at apartments off campus. “One of the hard parts of being an HBCU is when you’re under-resourced for such a long period of time, trying to catch up with your infrastructure needs is a difficult and timely thing,” said Frank Tramble, a Howard spokesman.

  • The Moratorium Hasn't Stopped Landlords From Bringing Tenants to Eviction Court
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    During the eviction moratorium, landlords continued to file legal paperwork demanding that their tenants vacate. In some cases, renters have even been evicted. Loopholes in the federal moratorium have allowed landlords to bring tenants to court over nonpayment. Women, particularly women of color, and LGBTQ+ people are among the most susceptible to eviction and housing insecurity. Last fall, US Census data showed women were more likely to report being unable to make rent or mortgage payments during the pandemic. Now that the moratorium has expired, it’s unclear how many more could be at risk. “It’s a cliff, but the ground underneath us has been eroding for some time,” said Joan Maya Mazelis, associate professor of sociology at Rutgers University–Camden.