COVID-19 & Housing Justice
Digital Repository
The outbreak of COVID-19 created an unprecedented housing, public health, and socioeconomic crisis that demands critical, innovative, and timely solutions. The Housing Justice in Unequal Cities Network created this repository where legal, political, and public health arguments – ones that have been carefully, critically, and thoroughly thought out – can be shared for wider distribution, consumption, and use.
Keeping People in Their Homes
State of Waiting: California’s Rental Assistance Program One Month Before Expiration
March 7, 2022 In January 2022, 721,000 California renter households owed an estimated $3.3 billion in back rent. This analysis of Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) data reveals the failure of the program to assist the state’s renters, leaving them at risk for eviction.
Broken Promises: 2021-22 Statewide Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) Survey
March 2022 The Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) was launched in early 2021 to assist landlords and renters impacted by COVID-19. However, this survey illustrates that the relief is not getting to those who need it most, leaving many tenants at risk for eviction.
L.A. County Landlords Lose Appeal Over City Eviction Moratorium
August 25, 2021 In a ruling from the U.S Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit, the Apartment Association of Los Angeles County has been denied a preliminary injunction on the eviction moratorium enacted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The court argues that the purpose of the moratorium outweighs any impairment of contractual relationships between landlords and renters.
“Band-Aid Over a Bullet Wound”: Housing Advocates Welcome CDC Eviction Moratorium But Say It’s Not Enough
August 9, 2021 In this interview with Democracy Now!, Tara Raghuveer, director of the tenants’ rights organization KC Tenants, discusses the millions of people in the U.S. who are still at risk of eviction, despite a new two-month moratorium extension.
State Protections for Renters Extended but Fail To Meet the Moment
July 1, 2021 This update from Urban Habitat illustrates the shortcomings of the eviction moratorium, which was recently extended to September 31, 2021, as well as the shortsighted nature of renter protections enacted amidst the pandemic.
There Is No Eviction Moratorium
May 27, 2021 This interactive map from the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project documents eviction filings in Los Angeles County during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the inefficacy of the various eviction moratoria enacted during this period.
Louisville Eviction Lab: Spring 2021 Report
April 22, 2021 This StoryMap from the Root Cause Research Center is an update on the state of evictions in Louisville, Kentucky, illustrating and examining eviction and rental assistance activities between January and March of 2021.
Not Just a Landlord Bailout
April 12, 2021 This working paper, produced by the Urban Democracy Lab at NYU, argues that the federal allocations for housing assistance and rent relief should center the needs of renters through mechanisms like debt release, eviction protections, and social housing programs rather than merely providing relief to landlords.
Cost of Oregon Evictions
February 11, 2021 This report, produced by the Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative, estimates the costs associated with the mass evictions that may ensue without the adoption of additional eviction supports during the pandemic.
Fact Sheet: COVID-19 Evictions in California
January 2021 This fact sheet was created through a partnership between the Bay Area Equity Atlas and Housing NOW! California to provide research support for policies that protect renters at risk of eviction during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Louisville Eviction Lab
December 6, 2020 This StoryMap from the Root Cause Research Center illustrates and examines eviction and rental assistance activities between March and December of 2020.
ACLU SoCal Amicus Brief in Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles v. City of Los Angeles
October 9, 2020 This amicus brief, filed by the ACLU of Southern California on behalf of Ananya Roy, director of the UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy and Paul Ong, director of the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge, argues against a preliminary injunction that would suspend the city of Los Angeles’s eviction moratorium for renters experiencing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The brief asserts that such an injunction would disproportionality impact Black and Latino families that have already been hardest hit by the pandemic.
Organizing for housing justice in times of the COVID-19 pandemic
August 24, 2020 This report, written by the European Action Coalition for the Right to Housing and to the City, examines the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on housing conditions and organizing for housing rights from March through June of 2020.
COVID-19 and the right to adequate housing: impacts and the way forward
July 27, 2020 This report from Balakrishnan Rajagopal, the UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context, positions housing at the front line in the fight against COVID-19. Indicating that the worst outcomes of the pandemic can be avoided through the protection and fulfillment of the right to housing, the report presents a set of recommendations to this end.
Campanha Nacional #Despejozero
July 2020 This campaign was organized by more than 40 organizations representing Brazil’s countryside and cities to protect families from eviction. This campaign lifts up that eviction processes have not started with the pandemic, nor will they end with it.
Stopping the Avalanche of Evictions
June 8, 2020 This opinion piece, written by San Francisco District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston for the San Francisco Examiner, outlines his argument proposing a new law that provides permanent eviction protections for people who lost income due to COVID-19 and could not pay rent.
Beyond Recovery: Organizing Toolkit – A How-To Guide for People Who Are Ready to Organize
June 3, 2020 This organizing toolkit, authored by #UnequalCities Network organization Right to the City Alliance, is designed to support impacted people in getting organized to collectively fight for themselves, their families, and their neighbors in responding to the long crisis around housing and land. The authors call on the public to utilize this pandemic to build power and grow the movement to end housing and land exploitation. The toolkit offers direct guidance on getting started with organizing, building a campaign, and taking action, as well as an index of resources.
Make Them Pay: Corporate Landlords Should Cancel Rent, Mortgages, and Utilities for the Duration of the COVID-19 Pandemic
May 19, 2020 This ACRE report, co-authored by #UnequalCities Network member Sofia Lopez, advocates for the full cancellation of housing-related expenses and debts, arguing that low-income people cannot afford to stay at home and “flatten the curve” unless their rent, mortgages, and utilities are cancelled. In the report, they provide a detailed overview of the federal, state, and local handouts that corporate landlords receive, and they argue that these same corporations will likely seek billions more through COVID-19 related tax breaks.
COVID-19 Emergency Tenant Protections & Rent Strikes
May 2020 #UnequalCities Network partners the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project have compiled this open-source map of documenting emergency tenant protections passed during the COVID-19 crisis. This map has been expanded since its initial formation to include jurisdictions around the world.
Summary and Analysis of CARES Act Eviction Moratorium
April 28, 2020 The National Housing Law Project summarized and analyzed the eviction moratorium provided under the CARES Act in response to COVID-19. This analysis provides an overview of what the eviction moratorium does, which types of housing it covers, and the duration of the moratorium.
Cancel Rent Policy Summary
April 28, 2020 Our Homes, Our Health is a collaborative initiative powered by #UnequalCities Network organization PolicyLink, in response to COVID-19. In this policy summary, they outline the case for canceling rent and reallocating public funds towards building a more equitable and just housing system.
Analysis of HUD Waivers Under the CARES Act
April 23, 2020 The National Housing Law Project analyzed the HUD waivers provided under the CARES Act in response to COVID-19. This analysis includes (1) an overview of the HUD waiver notice; (2) a list of key policies to consider when advocating with local PHAs; and (3) a summary of available waivers for Housing Choice Voucher and Public Housing programs that will impact tenants’ rights and housing access. For each of the waivers, NHLP provides a policy recommendation.
Legal Analysis of Renter Protections in Council Files on Eviction Moratorium, Unpaid Rent, and Rent Freeze
April 21, 2020 A collective of lawyers from public interest firms based in Los Angeles wrote this letter to the Los Angeles City Council, in support of several motions to protect tenants struggling with financial losses as a result of strict but necessary Safe at Home orders. They strongly urge the City of Los Angeles to exercise its police powers and emergency powers to the fullest extent, outlining the specific legal mechanisms that the City has to enact a broad eviction moratorium, secure a rent freeze on all rental units, and clarify that unpaid rent during the emergency period is not grounds for eviction later.
Faculty Letter on Eviction Moratorium to Los Angeles City Council
April 21, 2020 UCLA Urban Planning faculty Ananya Roy, Michael Lens, Michael Manville, and Paavo Monkkonen authored this letter urging the City Council to support a complete eviction moratorium in Los Angeles to address the COVID-19 crisis. This letter, signed by colleagues at UCLA, UC Irvine, USC, Cal State LA, Cal State Long Beach, and Azusa Pacific University, urgently argues that evictions, and the filing of eviction actions, must stop as this public health emergency and its associated socioeconomic crisis continue.”
COVID-19 Guidance Note: Protecting Renters and Mortgage Payers
April 8, 2020 This briefing, issued by the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, offers guidance on measures that states can take to address the deficiencies in unequal housing systems worldwide. These measures include eviction prohibitions, rent freezes, rental rate adjustments for COVID-related job losses, and housing rights monitoring for informal settlements. This briefing was developed in consultation with advocates from Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe.
Rent Suspension Letter to San Jose City Council
April 6, 2020 Lawyers from Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, Public Counsel, and Public Interest Law Project drafted this letter to the San Jose City Council, proposing a temporary rent suspension for all tenants impacted by COVID-19 and outlining the specific emergency and police powers City Council has to enact this regulation.
Rent Strike 2020 Resource List
April 3, 2020 Nana Yaa at the New Inquiry compiled an extensive resource list on organizing rent strikes, based on information on the ground from communities in the USA, Canada, the UK, and Australia. This guide includes information on: how to form a tenants union, sample letters to landlords, petitions, demands, and a list of active rent strikes and direct actions.
Local Government Response Clearinghouse: Housing, Utilities, and Homelessness
April 2020 Local Progress has launched an interactive clearinghouse cataloging local government response efforts from jurisdictions across the U.S. These ordinances and moratoriums are available to download as PDFs. In addition to housing justice protections, they have compiled protections related to immigration, education, legal justice, business stabilization, and public health.
COVID-19 Eviction Bans and Suspensions to Support Renters
March 25, 2020 This table from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation details the measures that provinces and territories are taking to suspend evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Seven Measures Authorities Must Take to Protect Homeless People from COVID
March 2020 Lab Cidade at Universidade de Sao Paulo, directed by #UnequalCities Network member Raquel Rolnik, has compiled Espacial Coronavirus to share research, publications, and campaigns concerning responses and strategies to the pandemic in cities across Brazil and around the world. This resource is updated weekly and is organized into three pages: Coronavirus – Housing and Urbanism; Actions to Protect the Right to Housing; and, Campaigns and Actions of the Territories. The entire website is available in Portuguese and Spanish, and – with the Google Translate plugin – content can be roughly translated into English.
Tools to Implement Moratoriums in Your Community
March 2020 Florida-based Community Justice Project has compiled an archive of ordinances and sample advocacy letters to implement eviction and foreclosure moratoriums. Most of their published resources are available in English and in Spanish.
Housing Unhoused Neighbors
1,500 Unhoused LA Residents Died on the Streets During Pandemic, Report Reveals
December 1, 2021 The number of deaths among unhoused residents in Los Angeles has significantly increased since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This article highlights the findings of a recent report authored by #UnequalCities Network members Ananya Roy and Chloe Rosenstock which investigates the rise in these preventable deaths despite the implementation of measures to protect unhoused communities.
Garcetti Said That L.A.’s Hand-Washing Stations for the Homeless Were Regularly Refilled, Records Obtained Show Otherwise
June 7, 2021 This article, written by #UnequalCities Member Lexis-Olivier Ray for L.A. TACO investigates the maintenance and monitoring of hand-washing stations made available to unhoused residents in Los Angeles, finding that the city has failed to provide these necessary resources for those most at risk during the pandemic.
Op-Ed: Cancel Parking Fines for Unhoused People Who Live in Their Cars
May 19, 2021 Parking tickets impose a huge burden on the unhoused residents of Los Angeles, leaving them at a deeper risk for displacement. This opinion piece, written by #UnequalCities Member Sam Lutzker for the Los Angeles Times, makes the case for cancelling fines for people who use their cars as shelter.
Shelter in Place: LA’s Fight for Housing in a Pandemic
May 19, 2021 This film, featured on Al Jazeera America’s Fault Lines, follows unhoused families in Los Angeles navigating the housing crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses on the Reclaimers, a group of unhoused families that took over vacant properties owned by Caltrans.
Violent Police-Led Eviction of Echo Park Lake Unhoused Community
March 31, 2021 This letter, signed by faculty experts at UCLA, USC, and UCI, expresses grave concern about the recent displacement of the homeless community at Echo Park Lake, Los Angeles, through police force and calls into question the justification of such displacement through fallacious arguments about housing. Signatories insist that the damage wrought by this forced eviction be redressed and that such harm not be repeated elsewhere in the city.
“Project No Key”
February 24, 2021 This article, written by #UnequalCities Member Sam Lutzker for KNOCK LA analyzes the experiences of residents in California’s Project Roomkey (PRK) program and highlights why residents are losing trust in the program.
Fact Sheet: Right to Rest Act (HB 2367)
February 23, 2021 This fact sheet was prepared by the Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP) in support of the Right to Rest Act in Oregon. The Right to Rest Act is a legislative model developed by WRAP and its members across the western United States to protect people’s right to exist in public space without threat of harassment, ticketing, or arrest. The bill was written in response to feedback from thousands of unhoused people surveyed by WRAP members about needed policy responses to the criminalization of homelessness.
Press Release: Who Created A Successful Covid-19 Hotel Pilot Program for Unhoused Residents in Oakland? Unhoused Leaders & Grassroots Advocates Did
July 2, 2020 This press release, prepared by the East Oakland Collective, Love and Justice in the Streets, and The Village in Oakland, details the mutual aid effort developed by and for unhoused people to move into hotels and prevent the spread of COVID-19. Fill Hotels Not Graves is a collaborative, fully self-funded effort sustained through a GoFundMe campaign, without contributions from government agencies or officials. At the time of release, 33 unhoused people from ages 1 month to 77 years old have been safely housed in hotels through the campaign. The Hotels Not Graves campaign is part of the larger statewide #NoVacancyCA campaign.
Safe Outdoor Space
July 1, 2020 On Wednesday, July 1 the Denver Mayor’s Office announced that in partnership Colorado Village Collaborative and several other nonprofits, the city will be opening Safe Outdoor Spaces for people experiencing homelessness. These Safe Outdoor Spaces will be healthy, secure, staffed, resource and service-rich environments that prioritize people experiencing homelessness who are not accessing existing services or resources. These dedicated campsites will include the following resources and services
From Slums: Regional Proposal to Face the Health Crisis and Move Towards the Right to Housing and the Right to the City
May 31, 2020 This proposal, developed by Habitat International Coalition – América Latin (HIC-AL), contains six measures for governments throughout Latin America for best supporting people living in informal settlements during the pandemic. These recommendations include: increasing coordinated decision-making between residents of informal settlement and local governments; reorganization of water distribution to guarantee adequate access; improving informal settlement integration into the larger urban fabric; and, suspension of payment – without subsequent collection – of all water, sanitation, electricity, and gas services. This proposal is available in English and Spanish.
COVID-19 Guidance Note: Protecting Those Living in Homelessness
April 28, 2020 This briefing, issued by the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, offers guidance on measures that states can take to address the specific and urgent housing needs of unhoused people, in keeping with human rights obligations. These measures include: immediately providing accommodation for people rough sleeping (with the intention of transitioning them into permanent housing); ensuring emergency accommodations account for physical distancing, social isolation, and quarantine; and guaranteeing public access to public toilets, showers, and handwashing facilities. This briefing was developed in consultation with advocates from Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe.
COVID-19 Guidance Note: Protecting Residents of Informal Settlements
April 23, 2020 This briefing, issued by the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, offers guidance on measures that states can take to address the specific and urgent housing needs of people residing in informal settlements, in keeping with human rights obligations. These measures include: prohibiting evictions of informal settlements and encampments; ensuring residents of informal settlements have adequate access to WASH services; ensuring the lockdown provisions not affect essential services facilitated by the local informal economy; and strengthening connections between informal settlement residents and local community structures so that they can effectively work alongside governments in addressing the pandemic. This briefing was developed in consultation with advocates from Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe.
An Open Letter to Mayor London Breed
April 20, 2020 This open letter, written by a collective of San Francisco housing justice organizations, urges Mayor London Breed to sign the Hotel Ordinance. The Ordinance calls for the City to secure 8,250 private rooms, enabling the Homeless Emergency Service Providers Association to augment the city’s limited capacity in quickly meeting the needs of thousands of unhoused residents who currently have no way of sheltering in place.
Authority to Commandeer Hotels in Connection with COVID-19 Emergency
April 7, 2020 In this letter to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, lawyers writing on behalf of Housing Works offer legal analysis on the mayor’s broad emergency authority to commandeer hotel rooms to house unhoused people in connection with the COVID-19 emergency. Their analysis focuses on the mayor’s legal authority under local, state, and federal law.
For the Good Of Us All: Addressing the Needs of Our Unhoused Neighbors During the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 2020 Members of the UC Berkeley School of Public Health Community Action Team drew from their expertise in publishing this comprehensive public health report on the impacts of COVID-19 on unhoused communities. In the report, they provide an overview of policy developments in the COVID-19 response to homelessness in several cities and offer recommendations regarding testing and housing to protect unhoused people and the broader communities in which they live from preventable morbidity and mortality.
Seven Measures Authorities Must Take to Protect Homeless People from COVID
March 31, 2020 The European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless (FEANTSA) issued this call to public authorities at the local, regional, national, and supranational levels to take seven measures to protect homeless people and public health.
