Transcript
It’s the first week of the month and that means rent and mortgage payments are due.
But millions of Americans are unemployed and unable to pay.
Protests like this one are popping up all over the country.
Thousands of Americans are staging “cancel rent” strikes, calling for state leaders to come up with ways to help them stay in their homes.
According to data from the National Multifamily Housing Council, about a third of US renters did not pay their rent for April.
Activists in California, Pennsylvania and New York are encouraging tenants to withhold rent even if they are able to pay to draw attention to the plight of those unable to pay.
Some states and cities are looking into ways to provide immediate relief like temporary rental vouchers or halting evictions.
On the federal level one lawmaker has introduced the Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Act.
Under the bill, rent and home mortgage payments would be canceled until one month after the end of the national emergency.
Additionally the bill would create a fund to compensate landlords and lenders for the missed payments.
Posted – 5.3.20