Collection

Preventing Evictions During COVID-19

Solutions Journalism Network

By Saira Bajwa, Solutions Specialist

Even with a federal moratorium on evictions during the height of the pandemic, tenants in many places remain at risk of eviction. 

Evictions wreak havoc on families even in the best of times. But, when tenants seek shelter with friends, family, or on the streets during a pandemic, the threats to public safety increase. Scientists have created a model that estimates the danger of removing people from their homes during the most active phases of the pandemic. Even a low eviction rate would result in 15,000 extra cases annually of COVID-19.

This collection highlights initiatives that train tenants on their legal rights, help them fight evictions or resolve disputes with landlords, and one response that turned eviction enforcers into tenant-helpers.  In the midst of rising eviction filings, these solutions have allowed people to remain housed when it’s imperative to #stayhome for the sake of public health.