Greater eviction rate since Covid

 

Covid caused a lot of unsettlement and problems for a large chunk of the world. Businesses went bankrupt and shut down, people lost their jobs, and the economy crashed. The prices of oil went into the negative for the first time in the history of the world. It was absolute chaos.

 

The time post covid for landlords and tenants has been unsettling. The entire world has been turned upside down and shaken. Let us take a look at how Covid impacted landlords and their tenants.

 

The chaos starts

When Covid hit, many companies struggled to stay afloat. People stopped leaving the house out of fear or mandate, and because of this, the economy of the entire world suffered. People stopped going out to malls and shops and subsequently stopped buying as many products. Even home deliveries were at an all-time low. When Covid started spreading, no one had full information on the virus. People didn't know whether it would spread through sneezing, coughing, and the air. It was being speculated whether surfaces and packages could carry the virus too, and not many people were up to risk it.

 

Losing jobs

The economy took a big hit during Covid, and so did many individual companies and businesses. Many of these companies started downsizing and letting off their employees. Paying extra (or even necessary) employees is costly, and businesses were trying to cut their costs as much as possible to prevent shutting down. So, many people, regardless of the fact that they were good at what they did, were fired. To make matters worse, many of these people were not given a warning in advance.

 

Subsequent losses

Losing your job is already a big deal, but with no prior warning? You may be in big trouble if you don't have much in savings and can't hold off till you find another job (that even in Covid, when employers were certainly not looking to hire), paying rent on time becomes a big issue. When tenants don't pay rent on time, their landlord may want to evict them so they can rent out that space to someone else and create a source of income.

 

The landlords POV

As a tenant, this seems very unfair. First, you lose your job, and then your home too? However, from the landlord's point of view, they may be someone who has lost their job as well and now depend on the rent they get from their tenants to support their family. Or perhaps, the rent they get from their tenants is their primary source of income. So, even if a landlord tries to be understanding, compassion will not pay their bills.

 

Where from here

Once a tenant has been evicted, they become the government's responsibility. The government will allot them housing if they don't have any family they can live with. However, there is a plethora of problems with this housing that is allocated to such people. The housing is extremely substandard and usually has many problems with the plumbing, flooring, gas, electricity, etc. Along with this, these houses are usually located in high-crime neighborhoods, where the risk of getting robbed or attacked is far higher than in other neighborhoods.

 

The feeling of displacement

People who are evicted face psychological trauma and the risk of suicide increases. The process of eviction is also usually very quick. Once your landlord sends you the notice, you typically have to move out within a couple of days. It becomes very difficult to move out all your belongings in just a matter of days, especially when you have no idea where you are going to put them.

 

If you don't have another place to stay, you would essentially have to keep your things out on the road or in storage (which would also cost you money). This would be an added tension, as the tenant would feel displaced and unsettled.

 

Problems for children specifically

Tenants who are forced out of their houses may also face the problem of being unable to send their children to school. If they don't have a roof over their head, they can't be expected to pack their books and lunches and head off to school. Because of this, they will miss more days at school, which will be detrimental to them and deter their academic progress.

 

Children may not have access to proper food as they did when living in a home. This may lead to malnourishment and affect their academic performance, as well as their health and well-being in a general sense.

 

Credit Sheet

Being evicted due to late rent payment or nonpayment of rent goes on an individual's credit sheet and brings down the score. Landlords review this credit sheet before allowing a potential tenant to rent their property. This process is called tenant screening and is a thorough process. If a tenant's score is below 650, landlords are unlikely to offer them the place.

 

An eviction on your credit sheet history also looks terrible, especially if the reason behind it is nonpayment of rent. Other landlords would also be wary of letting their property out to you and may not trust you to pay the rent on time again, making it harder to find a place to live.

 

Conclusion

It has become increasingly difficult for landlords and tenants alike since Covid hit. The screening process must be more intensive, but from the tenant's point of view, some things just aren't fair, and sometimes there is not much the tenant can do about it.