This article by reporter Moe Clark was originally posted on Colorado Newsline on August 7, 2020.
Between 436,000 and 596,000 people in Colorado — or 25%-36% of renters in the state — could be at risk of eviction by the end of the year, according to a new analysis.
The analysis, released on Friday by the nonprofit The Aspen Institute, estimates that 29 million renters across the country are at risk of losing their homes as a result of the economic crisis spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, more than 18% of renters nationally reported they were unable to pay July’s rent on time. Forty-three percent of renter households with children and 33% of all renter households reported having slight or no confidence that they can pay August rent on time.
“That statistic haunts me, especially as we are about to begin a new school year,” state Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat, wrote on Twitter.
The Aspen Institute analysis was a compilation of research from nine organizations, including the COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project, the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Eviction Lab at Princeton University.
The report highlights that Black and Latinx people are disproportionately rent-burdened and at a higher risk of eviction. Rental cost burden is defined as a household that pays over 30% of its income on rent.
Nearly 42% of Black and 49% of Hispanic renters had slight or no confidence that they will be able to pay August’s rent — compared to 22% of white renters, according to the report.
The report comes as housing advocates continue to push for more robust state and federal executive action to prevent what many worry is an impending wave of evictions in Colorado.
Colorado’s eviction moratorium expired on June 14, but landlords are still required to give tenants 30 days notice to vacate the premises.
The federal moratorium on evictions expired on July 24, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Residents and landlords across Colorado can apply for state rental or mortgage assistance at 211colorado.org or by calling 211 to be connected to a local agency.