Future uncertain in Ohio after eviction moratorium ends
(The Center Square) – The state of Ohio has released more than $13 million aimed at providing support services to families, but only one grant deals with housing assistance after the national eviction moratorium expired last weekend.
A $75,000 grant was sent is earmarked for rental assistance, eviction prevention and utility down payment services. The rest of the $13.5 million is designated for organizations to provide a variety of services, including education, women’s issues, trauma care, mentoring and pregnancy prevention.
The Biden administration allowed the moratorium to end Saturday, and Congress was unable to extend it, leaving millions of tenants and landlords unsure of the future. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated 213,000 Ohio households are behind on rent, and 134,000 are concerned they will get evicted within the next two months.
“The CDC’s eviction moratorium was poorly designed and implemented in Ohio so it’s impossible to know how many eviction cases were put on hold until the CDC moratorium expired July 31,” Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio Executive Director Bill Faith said. “But with so many tenants still behind on rent, we’re concerned the floodgates will now open and sweep many vulnerable families out of their homes just when COVID cases are rising again.”
The COHHIO expects a drawn out impact from the moratorium lifting because courts can handle only so many cases, and it estimates only half of the tenants realized it existed. Because there was no statewide moratorium, evictions continued during the pandemic, albeit at a lower rate, according to Marcus Roth, COHHIO communications and development director.
“Generally speaking, we don’t expect there to be a sudden massive spike in the number of people getting turned out of their homes. It’s going to be gradual,” Roth said. “In Ohio, many of the courts just ignored the CDC moratorium. It was better than nothing. It’s impossible to say how many people were protected by the moratorium, so that’s why it’s hard to say how many will be affected now.”
The state has spent more than $675 million during the pandemic on rental and utility assistance, but the need often has been too much for local agencies to handle. Because of the backlog, help may not arrive to renters or landlords before an eviction.
Faith encouraged tenants to continue to apply for help and asked landlords to work with local agencies to help process payments on behalf of their tenants.
Ohio typically deals with between 7,500-10,000 eviction case filings a month. Those dropped to 1,703 in April 2020, when many local courts stopped hearing eviction cases, according to COHHIO. Cases resumed later in the year, but at a lower level.
“Emergency Rental Assistance is a lifeline for many Ohioans who lost jobs or income during the pandemic, but it’s just short-term relief,” Faith said. “We also need long-term solutions to fix the affordable housing shortage so we’re not stuck behind the eight ball again when the next crisis comes along.”
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