Rising Eviction Rates in California and Solutions for Homelessness

By: Rama Ketabchi

Every person fears the day they might receive an eviction letter from

their landlord giving them a short notice to move out from the place they once called home. Eviction can occur due to many reasons, the most popular ones being late rent or non-payment of rent. The concept isn’t new and landlords have been using it as a method to kick their tenants out for a long time, yet recently there are more headlines and stories evident due to the skyrocketing

rates of it taking place. When a person is evicted, it’s usually an indication that they might be going through financial problems; So what happens when they’re kicked out of their house? Where are they going to sleep? Eviction puts families through a lot of stress not knowing where they’re going to spend the night or if they’re even going to have a roof over their head. Most people have big families with kids to feed and clothe, so how is an unemployed person

suppose to take care of their family while paying rent at the same time in order to avoid being evicted.

Covid-19 was the reason why eviction rates have risen so much, due to many people losing their jobs and not being able to afford rent. As the National Library of Medicine states, “The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated catastrophic job loss, unprecedented unemployment rates, and severe economic hardship in renter households”specifying how Covid not only led to people losing their jobs but also their homes at the same time (J urban health). As the picture above shows, about 1,000 people in Houston, Texas lose their homes on a weekly average. The most tragic part is how this isn’t the tenants fault as they had no choice but to stay home during covid in order to stay safe. Although even before the pandemic, “The high cost of housing in California placed renter households in a precarious position,” covid-19 made it even worse as, “A pandemic‐induced job loss adds further financial stress to these

households”(Lourdes Morales).

Fortunately, California decided to come up with solutions for these skyrocketing numbers by creating rental assistance programs such as the California Covid-19 Rent Relief which was specifically made to help people who lost their jobs during covid. Tenants who receive their eviction letters, can contact these organizations for either one month of rent, funding for a hotel, or a down payment for a new house. This could help put a family back on their feet until they find a job or money for a new house. As can be found on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) offers programs to help pay rent.In subsidized housing, the government pays apartment owners to offer reduced rents to tenants with low incomes” proving how there are government programs specifically made in order to help tenants in need. Eviction is never good news and rental assistance programs will obviously not provide a tenant with never

ending funding for their house, yet it’s reassurance for renters that there’s something out there which they can rely on in times of need.

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