US Rental Eviction Moratorium Ends: SE Mutual Aid Action Station

Tef

The US’ moratorium on rental evictions for unpaid rent expired on Saturday 31st July.

A bunch of people are going to be evicted, through no real fault of their own. (No, working for poverty wages during a plague is not a reasonable option)

Do you need help? Please ask ITT

Do you know some groups doing good work in your community? Shout them out in here

Want to vent your righteous fury over your failed state? Be my guest

Do you have a spare bed/couch/whatever, or are you able to help people move their stuff? Sing out ITT

I’ll put useful resources and offers to help in the OP.

I live on the other side of the world but I can offer some financial assistance. If you’re not comfortable asking publicly please PM me. I will say that asking for help is human and natural; it is your social conditioning that makes you feel ashamed and it only serves the elite for us to suffer in silence.

TENANCY RIGHTS

Ubik wrote: »

the national moratorium has expired but local courts and authorities may have additional restrictions; even if it's just additional paperwork the landlord has to file, it could be enough to slow things down or they might miss a step in their rush to evict

this is a HUD link: https://www.hud.gov/topics/rental_assistance/tenantrights

but also search for a local tenants' union or local legal aid or housing counselors, they can usually link people up with pro bono representation, resources, or at least provide advice and information about local issues

PHILLY

Ladai wrote: »

Heads up for folks in Philly: Before evicting you for nonpayment, your landlord is required under city law to both apply for rental assistance and be enrolled in the city’s new Eviction Diversion Program, which city council created in June of last year, I believe.

Tons of important info about your rights as a tenant and forms here: http://www.phillytenant.org/
Philly Tenant Hotline for free legal advice and possible representation: 267-443-2500
Philadelphia Tenants Union: http://phillytenantsunion.org/
Philadelphia Tenant Union Representative Network (TURN), which provides free, daily renters’ rights workshops on Zoom: https://rturn.net/

Hacksaw

If you're in the SeaTac region and need a place to crash short term, I can help.

Ubik

the national moratorium has expired but local courts and authorities may have additional restrictions; even if it's just additional paperwork the landlord has to file, it could be enough to slow things down or they might miss a step in their rush to evict

this is a HUD link: https://www.hud.gov/topics/rental_assistance/tenantrights

but also search for a local tenants' union or local legal aid or housing counselors, they can usually link people up with pro bono representation, resources, or at least provide advice and information about local issues

Macro9

Y'all are doing good work.

Are there any gofundmes or charities you'd recommend to help folks out with this?

cursedking

I was reading a story about the moratorium, and I guess I didn't realize that it counted as forbearance, or something? And some people will have to back pay, at once, all of the mortgage they didn't pay?

Tef

Just remembering this proud moment in US history

(It won’t be all shitposts, I promise. Just wanted to get this up and get the conversation happening ASAP, I’ll have some links of my own after work)

Ubik

cursedking wrote: »

I was reading a story about the moratorium, and I guess I didn't realize that it counted as forbearance, or something? And some people will have to back pay, at once, all of the mortgage they didn't pay?

for most mortgages, there's a couple other options, they can spread it out with the regular payments, put it on the back end, or work it into a modification

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/coronavirus/mortgage-and-housing-assistance/help-for-homeowners/repay-forbearance/

i bet there's some cases that won't qualify, but it never hurts to contact the mortgage company to go over options, or contact a housing counselor

also on the topic of federally-backed mortgages, there is still an eviction moratorium for some post-foreclosure houses through September

https://www.hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_advisories/HUD_No_21_118

Lanz

Regarding venting over our failed state, This feels… depressingly cyclical

The Rise of Hoovervilles

As the Depression worsened and millions of urban and rural families lost their jobs and depleted their savings, they also lost their homes. Desperate for shelter, homeless citizens built shantytowns in and around cities across the nation. These camps came to be called Hoovervilles, after the president. Democratic National Committee publicity director and longtime newspaper reporter Charles Michelson (1868-1948) is credited with coining the term, which first appeared in print in 1930.

Hooverville shanties were constructed of cardboard, tar paper, glass, lumber, tin and whatever other materials people could salvage. Unemployed masons used cast-off stone and bricks and in some cases built structures that stood 20 feet high. Most shanties, however, were distinctly less glamorous: Cardboard-box homes did not last long, and most dwellings were in a constant state of being rebuilt. Some homes were not buildings at all, but deep holes dug in the ground with makeshift roofs laid over them to keep out inclement weather. Some of the homeless found shelter inside empty conduits and water mains.

Life in a Hooverville

No two Hoovervilles were quite alike, and the camps varied in population and size. Some were as small as a few hundred people while others, in bigger metropolitan areas such as Washington, D.C., and New York City, boasted thousands of inhabitants. St. Louis, Missouri, was home to one of the country’s largest and longest-standing Hoovervilles.
Whenever possible, Hoovervilles were built near rivers for the convenience of a water source. For example, in New York City, encampments sprang up along the Hudson and East rivers. Some Hoovervilles were dotted with vegetable gardens, and some individual shacks contained furniture a family had managed to carry away upon eviction from their former home. However, Hoovervilles were typically grim and unsanitary. They posed health risks to their inhabitants as well as to those living nearby, but there was little that local governments or health agencies could do. Hooverville residents had nowhere else to go, and public sympathy, for the most part, was with them. Even when Hoovervilles were raided by order of parks departments or other authorities, the men who carried out the raids often expressed regret and guilt for their actions. More often than not, Hoovervilles were tolerated.

Most Hoovervilles operated in an informal, unorganized way, but the bigger ones would sometimes put forward spokespersons to serve as a liaison between the camp and the larger community. St. Louis’ Hooverville, built in 1930, had its own unofficial mayor, churches and social institutions. This Hooverville thrived because it was funded by private donations. It maintained itself as a free-standing community until 1936, when it was razed.
Although a common factor among Hooverville residents was unemployment, inhabitants took any work that became available, often laboring at such backbreaking, sporadic jobs as fruit picking or packing. Writer John Steinbeck (1902-68) featured a family who lived in a California Hooverville and sought farm work in his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Grapes of Wrath,” which was first published in 1939.

https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/hoovervilles

Lanz

Moody’s puts the number of potential evictees at over six million, via Slate

Tenants across the country with months of unpaid back rent could be kicked out of their homes soon as a federal eviction moratorium looks set to expire at midnight Saturday. That means millions of people could lose their shelter just as the highly contagious Delta variant is causing a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases across the United States. Lawmakers failed Friday to push through a last-minute extension on the moratorium, which had been put in place in September by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Although it’s unclear exactly how many people could be facing eviction, data from Moody’s shows there are more than 6 million renters who are behind on their rent. The CDC extended the eviction ban for one month in June and on Thursday the White House said it was up to Congress to resolve the issue. The Biden administration said its hands were tied after the Supreme Court last month said the moratorium could stay in place until its expiration but any further extensions would require explicit authorization from Congress. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden would have supported another extension but “the Supreme Court has made clear that this option is no longer available.”

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/07/millions-tenants-lose-homes-eviction-moratorium.html

For historic context:

The Great Depression Facts, Effects and Events

During the Great Depression, the country was hit with an extremely large unemployment rate. By 1933, the unemployment rate had climbed from 3% to 25%. By 1932, over 13 million Americans had lost their jobs.

Between 1929 and 1932, incomes, on average, were reduced by 40%. Deflation took hold, reducing prices by 10% per year on goods. Foreclosures rose sharply. By 1934, nearly one-half of all residential loans were delinquent and over 1 million families lost their farms. In 1932 alone, 273,000 families were evicted from their homes. Between 1929 and 1932, construction of homes dropped by an incredible 80%.

The Great Plain States were hit even harder than other states. This is because they were hit by a severe drought. This is where the term “Dust Bowl” originated. Many companies were forced to close, due to the economic environment. Banks were closing at an alarming rate and in 1933 alone, more than 4,000 banks closed. By 1933, the GDP fell 33%. During the Great Depression, there were 2 million homeless people in the United States. The stock market hit a low in 1932 closing at 41.22, down 89.2% from its all-time high.

http://www.stockpickssystem.com/the-great-depression/

For additional context, the US population is a bit over twice what it was during the depression, and we’re looking at a looming eviction crisis that may, unchecked, de-home three times as many people as the Great Depression

Bucketman

If anyone is in the Chicago land area, we have an extra room for the short term.

Kelor

Crossed my mind that having all these people homeless (I haven't been able to find a breakdown, but I'm guessing due to density that evictions will more heavily impact cities more heavily) plays into all of the schemes the republicans have in the fire to make voting harder.

Enforcing photo ID is a short step away from going "oh, but you don't live at this address?" sure would be an easy way to make things harder on voters.

Hacksaw

Update: I may be able to host people at more than one location.

Lanz

Kelor wrote: »

Crossed my mind that having all these people homeless (I haven't been able to find a breakdown, but I'm guessing due to density that evictions will more heavily impact cities more heavily) plays into all of the schemes the republicans have in the fire to make voting harder.

Enforcing photo ID is a short step away from going "oh, but you don't live at this address?" sure would be an easy way to make things harder on voters.

Pretty much

Even the old style of asking name and address as verification with the rolls would be harmed by a mass de-homing of folks. You spread that six million out just right and it could definitely impact elections, to say nothing of the issue of are you really going to bother voting if your primary concern is getting a roof back over your head to begin with?

Phillishere

For Durham, NC, a city where gentrification was already putting massive pressure on the Black community, there is Duke Mutual Aid:

https://www.dukemutualaid.org/

Durham needs help because of the economic situation, but also because it is a majority Black city whose community and culture is under direct threat not only from covid but from the announced headquarters of Apple and Google in the region. Rents went up $500 in the last six months - the highest increase in the nation - and companies like Blackrock are buying up homes at an accelerating rate, making home ownership impossible for residents who are being squeezed by the rent.

Without help, Durham will quickly become another white-majority tech hub with no place for its local residents.

LeperMessiah

Something to keep in mind, contact your Credit Union, bank, whatever early. Especially credit unions and smaller local/community banks, they are more likely able to help out much more early in the ordeal. Many have policies in place for hardship modifications, short term loans, special community outreach products etc., but many have stipulations on how far in the hole you can be before their policy prevents these options.

Jragghen

Looks like Cori Bush got enough movement to get another eviction ban for another 60 days. Biden is claiming it's due to the renewed covid spread.

Tef

Fantastic news!

I do know that waiting until the point of crisis is a very poor way to organise. We need to be chipping away at various things now in preparation for the next big thing. The sad reality is there will be another next big thing.

I’m wondering if this thread can serve a purpose going forward?

Polaritie

Tef wrote: »

Fantastic news!

I do know that waiting until the point of crisis is a very poor way to organise. We need to be chipping away at various things now in preparation for the next big thing. The sad reality is there will be another next big thing.

I’m wondering if this thread can serve a purpose going forward?

I'm not counting on it actually lasting 60 days, tbh. Some GOP sock puppet is going to strike it down I'm sure.

Lanz

As I understand it it’s also being targeted to high-infection areas, it’s not going to be a nation-wide moratorium, so there may be those in need still yet

Perrsun

LeperMessiah wrote: »

Something to keep in mind, contact your Credit Union, bank, whatever early. Especially credit unions and smaller local/community banks, they are more likely able to help out much more early in the ordeal. Many have policies in place for hardship modifications, short term loans, special community outreach products etc., but many have stipulations on how far in the hole you can be before their policy prevents these options.

I can emphasize this from personal experience. I’ve had family members that fell on hard times long before the pandemic, and their mentality was to just ignore their debt and/or hide from collections. Ended up in a worse situation than if they had just called the bank and gotten put on an alternate payment plan (which they would have qualified for, had they asked).

Sterica

LeperMessiah wrote: »

Something to keep in mind, contact your Credit Union, bank, whatever early. Especially credit unions and smaller local/community banks, they are more likely able to help out much more early in the ordeal. Many have policies in place for hardship modifications, short term loans, special community outreach products etc., but many have stipulations on how far in the hole you can be before their policy prevents these options.

Contacting the parasites is always the best option. These people are used to their clients ghosting or being rude, so just by being proactive and nice you put yourself in a way better position to negotiate.

Always negotiate; always negotiate! Do not start at the maximum you can afford each month, give yourself some breathing room and work yourself up to that point if all else fails. And stick to whatever you promise. if things get rough again, and you are forced back to the negotiation table with your asshole landlord or the ghouls at collections, then it gives you a lot more leverage when you have shown proof of consistent followthrough on the previous deal you worked out, as opposed to a spotty history of missed or late payments. Especially, debt collectors: they will turbo murder you if a payment is missed. It’s a debt you owe, then haggle. Try to get the amount lowered, or have missed rent payments waived. Just make sure you can follow through on whatever is asked of you.

astrobstrd

Bookmarking this because I am ok right now, but holy shit, when student loans come back I will not be.

Sterica

astrobstrd wrote: »

Bookmarking this because I am ok right now, but holy shit, when student loans come back I will not be.

Federal or private?

Federal is very reasonable about working with you. If you make too little you may not even have to make payments.

Private loans….well, they do have covid related relief options, but I know Sallie Mae will shank you with a knife barbed with smaller, rustier knives. Forbearance is an option, but you only get a few of them, and interest keeps running. My sallie mae balances are now higher than when I started because I was forced to pause them multiple times when I was working retail.

Phillishere

Sterica wrote: »

astrobstrd wrote: »

Bookmarking this because I am ok right now, but holy shit, when student loans come back I will not be.

Federal or private?

Federal is very reasonable about working with you. If you make too little you may not even have to make payments.

Private loans….well, they do have covid related relief options, but I know Sallie Mae will shank you with a knife barbed with smaller, rustier knives. Forbearance is an option, but you only get a few of them, and interest keeps running. My sallie mae balances are now higher than when I started because I was forced to pause them multiple times when I was working retail.

Federal depends a lot on who the loan servicers are, since that aspect of the federal student loans was privatized and contracted out under Obama. Some are decent and helpful, and some are worse than pay-day loan sharks.

Sterica

I guess I got lucky there. I have a loooot of federal debt, and they got me on income-based repayment.

Madican

Sterica wrote: »

I guess I got lucky there. I have a loooot of federal debt, and they got me on income-based repayment.

Same. It's been nice having that frozen, but to be honest the payment isn't really that much normally because I don't make that much.

astrobstrd

Federal and they had defaulted. Was pulling $500 a month out of my paychecks, but required tax and child support information that was all catch 22'd together and my severe ADHD and anxiety doesn't help.

Ladai

I'm really happy that Cori Bush was able to sufficiently shame the Democratic leadership in Congress to actually do something for once, but it's been really frustrating watching as individual states sit unwilling or unable to distribute rental assistance money while their residents struggle.

https://twitter.com/PEWilliams_/status/1423698534071734276

Text:

Through June, only 15 states (and DC) had spent 10% or more of their Emergency Rental Assistance dollars. July numbers should be out next week so hopefully we will see a lot more of this money spent.

They later add:

The big takeaways are that states
1. Do not have the capacity or resources to quickly stand up these programs
2. Many states are likely not taking the Treasury up on their very relaxed rules for getting this money out (fear of audits or paternalism baked into the bureaucracy?)

...

Of course to the prior point, the options as I see it are: overcome the both ideological and resource hurdles in 50 individual state governments, or simply run one big program at the national level.

Source is a fellow at the Jain Family Institute who focuses on welfare and housing policy.

Phillishere

Ladai wrote: »

I'm really happy that Cori Bush was able to sufficiently shame the Democratic leadership in Congress to actually do something for once, but it's been really frustrating watching as individual states sit unwilling or unable to distribute rental assistance money while their residents struggle.

https://twitter.com/PEWilliams_/status/1423698534071734276

Text:

Through June, only 15 states (and DC) had spent 10% or more of their Emergency Rental Assistance dollars. July numbers should be out next week so hopefully we will see a lot more of this money spent.

They later add:

The big takeaways are that states
1. Do not have the capacity or resources to quickly stand up these programs
2. Many states are likely not taking the Treasury up on their very relaxed rules for getting this money out (fear of audits or paternalism baked into the bureaucracy?)

...

Of course to the prior point, the options as I see it are: overcome the both ideological and resource hurdles in 50 individual state governments, or simply run one big program at the national level.

Source is a fellow at the Jain Family Institute who focuses on welfare and housing policy.

Whole lot of money isn't being spent across the board because workers have been flooding out of state agencies due to low pay, lack of childcare, and inflexible covid policies. And since much of this money is one-time, there isn't any willingness to bring on the staff needed to administer them since they'd just have to let them go again.

Ladai

Basically: The conservative project to severely underfund these agencies and programs at the state level has set them up to fail the people who come to depend on them. In other words: Working as intended.

Styrofoam Sammich

US government isnt designed to help people

Sterica

Styrofoam Sammich wrote: »

US government isnt designed to help people

it totally is…ever since corporations were legally defined as people

BahamutZERO

It's a dynamic system where part of the executive section of it wants to help people and part of the executive section of it wants to steal all the gold from the vaults and light it on fire to cover their escape, and currently the latter part is winning

Styrofoam Sammich

The "good" part just had to be shamed into doing anything about a potential tidal wave of homelessness so nah

Bucketman

Phillishere wrote: »

Sterica wrote: »

astrobstrd wrote: »

Bookmarking this because I am ok right now, but holy shit, when student loans come back I will not be.

Federal or private?

Federal is very reasonable about working with you. If you make too little you may not even have to make payments.

Private loans….well, they do have covid related relief options, but I know Sallie Mae will shank you with a knife barbed with smaller, rustier knives. Forbearance is an option, but you only get a few of them, and interest keeps running. My sallie mae balances are now higher than when I started because I was forced to pause them multiple times when I was working retail.

Federal depends a lot on who the loan servicers are, since that aspect of the federal student loans was privatized and contracted out under Obama. Some are decent and helpful, and some are worse than pay-day loan sharks.

Fun fact about that, I am under FedLoan, who is currently the biggest loan servicer. Well they are until the end of this year. They are no longer going to be servicing student loans. So its possible the few payments I've made toward my public loan forgiveness will be null and void.

Phillishere

Bucketman wrote: »

Phillishere wrote: »

Sterica wrote: »

astrobstrd wrote: »

Bookmarking this because I am ok right now, but holy shit, when student loans come back I will not be.

Federal or private?

Federal is very reasonable about working with you. If you make too little you may not even have to make payments.

Private loans….well, they do have covid related relief options, but I know Sallie Mae will shank you with a knife barbed with smaller, rustier knives. Forbearance is an option, but you only get a few of them, and interest keeps running. My sallie mae balances are now higher than when I started because I was forced to pause them multiple times when I was working retail.

Federal depends a lot on who the loan servicers are, since that aspect of the federal student loans was privatized and contracted out under Obama. Some are decent and helpful, and some are worse than pay-day loan sharks.

Fun fact about that, I am under FedLoan, who is currently the biggest loan servicer. Well they are until the end of this year. They are no longer going to be servicing student loans. So its possible the few payments I've made toward my public loan forgiveness will be null and void.

It's supposed to carry forward, but it would be worth it to document/screen capture everything before the shift. I have a bunch of "late" payments that don't qualify because I sent them to the wrong provider after my account was swapped to another one and I wasn't notified for months. I was told that it would be fixed, but it never was and that was two providers ago.

BahamutZERO

Styrofoam Sammich wrote: »

The "good" part just had to be shamed into doing anything about a potential tidal wave of homelessness so nah

I never said the democrats were the part that wants to help people

Madican

Bucketman wrote: »

Phillishere wrote: »

Sterica wrote: »

astrobstrd wrote: »

Bookmarking this because I am ok right now, but holy shit, when student loans come back I will not be.

Federal or private?

Federal is very reasonable about working with you. If you make too little you may not even have to make payments.

Private loans….well, they do have covid related relief options, but I know Sallie Mae will shank you with a knife barbed with smaller, rustier knives. Forbearance is an option, but you only get a few of them, and interest keeps running. My sallie mae balances are now higher than when I started because I was forced to pause them multiple times when I was working retail.

Federal depends a lot on who the loan servicers are, since that aspect of the federal student loans was privatized and contracted out under Obama. Some are decent and helpful, and some are worse than pay-day loan sharks.

Fun fact about that, I am under FedLoan, who is currently the biggest loan servicer. Well they are until the end of this year. They are no longer going to be servicing student loans. So its possible the few payments I've made toward my public loan forgiveness will be null and void.

Wait what? My entire loan is with them and I've heard none of this

Sterica

Yeah, no idea when they announced it, but I checked the site and they’re ending their contract with the government.

Sterica

lol they just announced the student loan moratorium is extended through 1/31/22

Pinfeldorf

WoN't sOmEbOdy tHiNk oF tHe LaNdlOrdS aNd lOaN SHarKs?!