The Daily - Evicted During the Pandemic

For years there has been an evictions crisis in the United States. The pandemic has made it more acute. On today’s episode, our conversations with a single mother of two from Georgia over several months during the pandemic. After she lost her job in March, the bottom fell out of her finances and eviction papers started coming. The federal safety net only stretched so far. And we ask, with Congress seeking to pass another stimulus bill, what do the next few months hold for renters in the United States? Guest: Matthew Desmond, a Professor of Sociology at Princeton University and contributing writer for The Times Magazine. For an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. You can read the latest edition here. Background reading: Emergency pandemic funding to help renters must be distributed by Dec. 30. But getting the money to those who need it is no small task.Residents of weekly rentals worry they will be kicked out if they can’t pay the rent. It’s unclear if the federal moratorium on evictions applies to them. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily

Duration: 35m
Broadcast on: 18 Dec 2020
Audio Format: other

For years there has been an evictions crisis in the United States. The pandemic has made it more acute.

On today’s episode, our conversations with a single mother of two from Georgia over several months during the pandemic. After she lost her job in March, the bottom fell out of her finances and eviction papers started coming. The federal safety net only stretched so far.

And we ask, with Congress seeking to pass another stimulus bill, what do the next few months hold for renters in the United States?

Guest: Matthew Desmond, a Professor of Sociology at Princeton University and contributing writer for The Times Magazine.

For an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. You can read the latest edition here.

Background reading:

Emergency pandemic funding to help renters must be distributed by Dec. 30. But getting the money to those who need it is no small task.
Residents of weekly rentals worry they will be kicked out if they can’t pay the rent. It’s unclear if the federal moratorium on evictions applies to them.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

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This podcast is supported by TikTok. Sometimes the most interesting discoveries are the ones you weren't looking for. That happens every day on TikTok. A science experiment can spark a whole new interest. A recipe you stumble upon can become a meal you make for the people you love. And a restaurant you've never heard of might become your new favorite spot. That's the thing about TikTok. Follow your curiosity and see where it leads. Your next discovery is waiting on TikTok. From the New York Times, I'm Michael Bobaro. This is the Daily. (upbeat music) As Congress closes in on a new round of pandemic relief, a major question is what it will do to protect millions of Americans from eviction. Today, my colleagues Stella Tan and Matthew Desmond on one family struggle to hold on to their home. It's Friday, December 18th. Right now, one thing that's really been on a lot of people's minds is rent. There is extreme anxiety among those who don't have income flowing in right now. There's nearly one third of people who rent their home in the United States, did not pay their April rent. It's been emblazoned on the side of some office buildings, canceled the rent. But what do you do with all the landlords who have mortgages themselves? The rent is due. Now, if you live in federally funded housing, there has been a 120 day freeze on eviction. The moratoriums buy you time that will require you to eventually pay the landlord for any rent past due. If they do not pay the full balance of their rent, that's when eviction proceedings could take place. In the meantime, what do you do if you can't pay your rent tomorrow? Hello. Hello? Hello, this is Yolanda. Hi, Yolanda, this is Stella from The New York Times. How are you? Over the summer, as the country was facing record unemployment, I started looking into what was going on with housing and rent. And in July, I got in touch with a woman in a suburb of Atlanta named Yolanda Jackson. I wonder if you could just start by telling me a little bit about yourself.

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