A problem as big as the affordable-housing crisis calls for a big solution. It should be at the top of America’s domestic-policy agenda—because it is driving poor families to financial ruin and even starting to engulf families with moderate incomes. Today, over 1 in 5 of all renting families in the country spends half of its income on housing.34 America can and should work to make its cities livable again.
COVID intensified the eviction crisis. Traffic to www.justshelter.org--a website I created to connect people with nonprofit organizations fighting evictions and promoting affordable housing--soared, as scores of Americans who had never before faced eviction were suddenly without work. Housing organizers advocated for renter protections, and the federal government responded with bold relief. I worked with the White House to push for the national eviction moratorium—which reduced the pandemic death rate by 11 percent—and emergency rental assistance, which caused evictions to plummet to record lows months after the moratorium ended. But the rental housing crisis continues unabated. Last year, rents jumped by 11 percent nationwide, the largest net increase on record.
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It is true that private investment companies buying up rental properties and buying up…