Politicians on Sunday attempted to avoid mass evictions of millions of Americans struggling financially after the expiration of the moratorium on evictions that had protected them. Starting Saturday, millions of American families faced the risk of being evicted from their homes due to their inability to pay rent for several months as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Samantha Byte and Andrew Martinez, residents of Aurora, Colorado, told KDVR television, "We are facing the risk of eviction." The couple plans to temporarily move with their two children to a piece of land they own, and the family expects to "live in tents with a wood stove in the winter," as Andrew recounted.
More than ten million people have fallen behind on their rent, according to estimates from the Budget and Policy Priorities Center, an independent research institute. About 3.6 million renters consider themselves at risk of eviction within a two-month timeframe, according to a study by the Census Bureau that included 51 million renters in early July.
The moratorium on evictions, which had been extended multiple times, expired at midnight on Saturday. This moratorium had been implemented for health reasons related to the pandemic. President Joe Biden requested Congress on Thursday to extend the moratorium, but his move faced criticism as many pointed out that he waited until the last minute to take action.
This stalemate drew widespread criticism from Democratic officials on Sunday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and several other Democratic officials urged Biden to extend the moratorium on evictions, stating that it is a matter of "moral obligation" to prevent people from becoming homeless, as they announced in a joint statement. Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized the Biden administration for waiting until the last minute to ask Congress to act, arguing that it would be unfair to evict renters at a time when billions of dollars allocated to partially address the unpaid rent issue remain unspent.
