The CDC must extend its eviction moratorium, now
By: Stefan Kertesz, Md
Tags: Cdc, Homelessness, Covid-19, Eviction

Dear Dr. Redfield and Dr. Schuchat,

As a homeless health care provider, committed advocate, and researcher, I write to ask that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention act now to extend its moratorium on eviction of renters. You should take this action based on imminent risks to public health, threats to hospital capacity, and the humanitarian interests of children and families whose lives have been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic.

I am sure you know that these risks have been exacerbated by the impasse between the Congress and the President. The United States Census Bureau estimates that 11.3 million households are behind on rent or will not be able to pay rent next month, a figure that agrees with the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s estimate of 30–40 million individuals at risk, with 9–17 million households risking eviction in 2021. The National Multifamily Housing Council reports a 4.4% decline in the percentage of apartments it tracks, which focus on conventional commercial units. Their estimate is concerning since it tends to underestimate eviction risk by counting high-risk indicators as a form of “payment”, namely a partial rent payment, and the conversion of security deposits to rent. Both signal that the renter will likely be in serious trouble the following month.

Evictions cause harm. They can be harmful to health, traumatic for children, and detrimental to their education. A record of eviction affects each adult’s opportunities to contribute to our future economic recovery, since that eviction serves as a “red letter” that will limit future housing, credit and employment opportunities.

Worse, we already know that most communities are in no position to mitigate the public health or humanitarian risks of a new wave of evictions. Last ditch housing arrangements, like staying with family, are less available to renters with poor families. This means that new-onset homelessness will fall disproportionately on persons who are from racial and ethnic minority groups, disabled, and poor. Communities are not equipped to buffer this shock, despite their best efforts.

Research from the University of California, Los Angeles found states that lifted eviction moratoria underwent a two-fold increase in the incidence of COVID-19 disease, and a 5.4-fold greater mortality at 16 weeks, compared to states that did not. At this moment, our hospitals lack the capacity to shoulder such a burden, and that is one reason this is a public health issue, not just a homeless issue.

In offering this request, I do not wish to minimize in any way the crucial interests of landlords, many of whom operate just a few properties on a “mom-and-pop” basis and whose economic situation is dire. Many are from racial and ethnic minority groups. Their willingness to rent property is a crucial asset to our already-stressed housing market. The now-stymied relief bill offered one avenue of relief: $25 billion in rental assistance. In the near term, some form of rental help must go forward, or both landlords and tenants face a cataclysm.

But right now, protection of the public health requires the CDC to continue its moratorium on eviction or we face a further rise in infection, and hospitalizations.

Sincerely

Stefan G. Kertesz, MD, MSc

Professor of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Homeless-focused physician since 1996