June 11, 2020

In the midst of nationwide protests against racist policing and police brutality, activists who have long called for reimaging public safety by defunding police and reinvesting those funds in public services are gaining widespread national attention and increasing support. Advocates assert that years of police reforms have failed and want to reinvest that money into housing, employment, community health, education, and other social programs. This movement comes during the COVID-19 economic crisis, when some cities and states have made large cuts to education, housing services, libraries, and more.

A new analysis by the Urban Institute found that Black and Latinx renters were more likely to miss rent payments in May than their white and Asian counterparts. They were also less likely to be confident in their ability to pay June rent. The authors say these findings are consistent with other research showing the pandemic is widening housing disparities by race and income and suggest “extending the moratorium on evictions” and that “helping people transition to mediation programs with housing counselors…will be important.”

The murder of George Floyd and resulting protests shone a spotlight on systemic racial segregation in Minneapolis, which has permeated beyond the police department. Now, local housing advocates are demanding policies beyond the city’s move toward eliminating single-family zoning, because some, like Owen Duckworth, director of organizing and policy at The Alliance, say the city’s zoning reform didn’t change the “power dynamics between folks who are trying to find housing or stay in their community, and the forces that are pushing them out or…preventing them from finding housing.” These groups are advocating for Minneapolis to invest directly in housing for low-income Black communities and communities of color through tools like community land trusts and a tenant opportunity-to-purchase act.

After the moratorium on evictions expired in Utah, the state created a $4 million rental assistance program for renters. Though there was slight jump in average daily eviction complaints across the states following the expiration, officials believe many renters remain protected through the federal eviction moratorium and the $600 bonus to unemployment benefits. However, these supports expire on July 27, and housing advocates are pushing for $100 billion federal rental assistance bill to fill in the gaps.