The state Senate approved a bill Tuesday that would provide attorneys to low-income tenants facing evictions.
The vote anticipates a wave of evictions that could come as pandemic-inspired state and federal moratoriums are lifted, and as federal funding provided to the state to help clear the backlog of rent that went unpaid during the pandemic awaits distribution.
“A good attorney especially a legal aid attorney who deals with this all day long can bring resources to that tenant in terms of finances, counseling, various other problems that tenant may be facing that are contributing factors towards the eviction or non payment,” Sen. Rick Lopes, a Democrat from New Britain and the co-chair of the Housing Committee, said on the senate floor Tuesday. “There are things now being put in place to help landlords who have lost rent during that time, and they are a work in progress, but they are moving in the right direction.”
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In Kansas City, a wave of evictions could push gun violence to new extremes this year
Housing problems and gun violence go hand in hand, experts say. And in Kansas City, both may be about to get even worse
May 25, 2021
It was boarded up, filled with trash, everything in complete disarray.
But Murrell, a part-time home renovator, knows this house on a corner of Prospect Avenue in Kansas City’s Washington-Wheatley neighborhood can be a happy home again. He spent his early childhood nearby and remembers the families who lived here.
Now 42, Murrell has seen the neighborhood hollowed out over the years by a historic loss of Black homeownership, high rates of evictions, and deteriorating housing conditions.
In Kansas City, a wave of evictions could push gun violence to new extremes this year msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Correction: An earlier version of this article reported that evictions filings rose in Milwaukee last year. Filings were somewhat lower in 2020.
Affordable housing has long been one of Milwaukee’s greatest challenges. Recent Wisconsin Policy Forum research has found thousands of households spend more than they can afford on rent, evictions are all too common, and homeownership has declined at an alarming rate. Stark racial disparities show that these issues are particularly challenging for the city’s Black and Hispanic populations.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated Milwaukee’s housing affordability challenges. While the economy has begun to rebound, preliminary data show total employment in the Milwaukee metro area remained down 7.1% in February 2021 compared with February 2020. Reduced employment has increased the number of households struggling to pay for basic needs such as rent, mortgages and home maintenance.