Evictions in housing assisted by Housing and Urban Development are now returning to pre-pandemic levels or higher, according to a recent survey from the National House Law Project.
"This is a really hard time for all tenants, but also HUD tenants, in particular, who are oftentimes some of the poorest families in the community," said National House Law Project's Deborah Thorpe.
Thorpe's organization has heard from advocates who say evictions among people outside of HUD-assisted housing are rising as well.
"Especially if you're facing an eviction for nonpayment of rent, it's a good time to talk to your landlord and try and negotiate because you know landlords understand that this is a really hard time right now with the inflation rising again and rents are really spiraling out of control," Thorpe said.
Repayment plans are something HUD housing advocates are pushing housing authorities to require.
"Fundamental to the HUD programs is that tenants pay 30% of their income in rent, but what we're hearing is that in many cases tenants are in fact being forced to pay well above 30% of their income in rent," Thorpe said.
Emergency rental assistance is still available in some cases. The Treasury Department allows communities to use eviction prevention for pandemic relief funds.
There are proposals to continue to fund the emergency rental assistance program.
