Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
The next wave of the COVID-19 crisis in Indiana is likely to be evictions on a pandemic scale. When people can’t work, they can’t pay rent. Unless action is taken soon, we’ll see an unprecedented wave of evictions and the accompanying consequences, including homelessness, job loss, school disruption and poverty.
This crisis is inevitable unless something changes before state and federal eviction moratoriums expire. A confluence of factors makes it inevitable:
◗ Existing poverty, including no asset cushion, for huge numbers of Hoosiers;
◗ New poverty among those who have lost jobs because of COVID-19;
◗ An overburdened unemployment compensation system;
◗ Laws that require courts to honor landlords’ requests for eviction when a tenant is even one day behind in rent, and, most important;
◗ No reliable resources to help tenants pay their rent.
As a result of the pandemic, more than half a million Hoosiers have applied for unemployment, and the actual number of people unemployed is certainly greater than that. Before COVID-19, 13% of Indiana residents lived below the poverty line (now $26,200 for a family of four). Some of these people may receive sufficient unemployment benefits to cover rent or mortgage and other necessities such as food, medicine and utilities, but many will not. And thousands of unemployment claims still have not been decided because of bureaucratic delays.
Some of us could manage temporary job loss by drawing on savings, but that alternative is unavailable for millions of Hoosiers. A recent study showed that 44% of Americans lacked the resources to cover a $400 emergency expense. These figures are consistent with national data showing that one-third of all renters did not pay their rent on time in April.
Indiana law generally requires courts to evict families—to put them out of their rental units—if they fall behind in rent by even one day. The eviction may occur within three weeks of filing eviction papers in court. The fact that a family might be waiting for unemployment compensation to come through won’t prevent eviction. The possibility of recall to a job won’t prevent eviction. Having an infant or being pregnant won’t prevent eviction.
Of course, arrangements can sometimes be made. At the civil legal aid agency where I work, sometimes we can persuade landlords to allow tenants to stay if they agree to a plan to pay back-rent owed, or the landlord will agree to let them stay an extra week or two if they have another place to go that isn’t yet available. But these deals hinge on having money available to pay back rent and landlords’ goodwill.
Unless resources can be found to help renters pay current and past rent, Indiana is likely to face a tidal wave of evictions, and the worst consequences will fall on families of color. Some in Congress propose adding rent assistance to the next round of COVID-19 legislation. Some advocate that additional COVID-19 funds Congress sent to Indiana a few weeks ago be diverted to rent (and Indianapolis apparently is doing just that with $15 million). Township trustees have funds that can be used to help low-income residents pay rent, but many refuse to help once an eviction case is filed.
So far, no concrete, statewide solution has materialized. Let’s hope a solution emerges before it’s too late.•
__________
Laramore is executive director of Indiana Legal Services Inc.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.