San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Eviction anxiety intensifies after high court ruling
WASHINGTON — Millions of Americans around the country face the prospect of losing their homes after the Supreme Court last week rejected the Biden administration’s latest federal moratorium on evictions.
The court’s ruling Thursday has once again thrust President Biden into the middle of a fight to help prevent people from being evicted as the delta variant of the coronavirus surges and as Democrats remain unable to muster enough votes to pass a new ban on evictions.
With no legal avenues remaining to take action on its own, the Biden administration issued a plea to state and local officials to do more to help.
In a letter, top Cabinet members urged governors, mayors, county executives and judges and administrators to extend local eviction moratoriums. The letter, from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen; Marcia Fudge, the secretary of housing and urban development; and Attorney General Merrick Garland, also asked them to enact policies that would require landlords to apply for federal aid before enforcing evictions and recommended that evictions be delayed while rental aid applications were pending.
The Supreme Court’s ruling divided lawmakers along party lines, with Republicans applauding the decision and Democrats demanding legislative action to address a looming eviction crisis.
A group of progressive
Protesters demonstrate in New York City on Aug. 19 for stronger eviction protections for tenants. The Biden administration issued a plea to state and local officials to do more to help.
House Democrats wrote a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, calling on congressional leaders to include an extended moratorium that would last through the end of the pandemic in upcoming legislation. An effort by House Democrats to extend the eviction ban failed in July.
Jen Psaki, the White House
press secretary, said Friday that Biden would welcome congressional action. Barring that, she said the White House was focused on finding other ways to ease the burden on renters by encouraging the delay of evictions and getting financial assistance out the door more quickly.
The effect on tenants will “vary tremendously from
state to state and city to city,” said Diane Yentel, president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
In California, renters are shielded from eviction through Sept. 30 under a state law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in June.