Addressing Housing Precarity in the Context of the Coronavirus Crisis

Executive Summary

Voters, as shown through polling by Data for Progress, across all party lines want their government officials to take bold steps to protect people from losing their homes and falling into financial despair, including bi-partisan support for each of the following:

• 79% would support a ban on rent increases for as long as there remains a state of emergency.
• 81% would support a ban on evictions for as long as there remains a state of emergency.
• 84% would support a ban on foreclosures for as long as there remains a state of emergency.
• 76% would support a “suspend and forgive” rent program, under which the government—not the renter—would compensate landlords for lost rental income for as long as there remains a state of emergency.
• 78% would support a “suspend and forgive” mortgage payment program  for as long as there remains a state of emergency.