Millions of Americans unable to pay their rent during the pandemic face a snowballing financial burden that threatens to deplete their savings, ruin their credit and drive them from their homes.
A patchwork of government action is protecting many of the most financially strapped tenants for now. But it could take these renters especially low-income ones years to recover, even as the rest of the economy begins to rebound.
“Even if they say we can pay [missed rent] back in two or three years that’s money we don’t have,” said Kelly Wise, a 32-year-old resident of L.A. s Westlake neighborhood. After losing jobs selling merchandise at concerts and cutting fabric for Hollywood sets, she is more than $10,000 behind on rent.