In late June the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) issued what is expected to be the last of the extensions of a housing eviction moratorium. This extension runs through the end of this month.
The CARES Act in March 2020 included a 120-day moratorium on evictions and other renter assistance. Since then, additional rent freezes and other tenant protections varied.
The most recent extension stated, “An unprecedented and avoidable surge of evictions is likely to occur if the national moratorium were to conclude on June 30th.”
As most of these protections were geared towards renters and not home owners, it is expected that the court system in South Carolina will be overwhelmed with rental evictions. The Courts have already seen more than normal eviction processes for homeowners due to Covid-19. 80% of South Carolina Counties are at or above the National Average.
Some Counties such as Lancaster have begun planning to use portions of the Covid-19 relief funds to aid evicted individuals.
Some Counties have hoped for a silver lining with the ending of the Covid-19 mandates, but have seen very little relief. Counties are now deliberating what should be done with the relief finances given to them. Some have chosen to use the aid to recuperate stated losses within the county budgets, while others are looking to use portions of it for the aid of the communities within their counties.
Either way it is feared that the number of evictions in South Carolina will leave thousands of families homeless and without any aid. On top of this families who were receiving an additional 15% increase on their food stamps stopped receiving the Covid-19 increase this month and the unemployment aid ended as well.
As employment numbers have still remained low and as several businesses closed due to Covid-19 many people fear there is no relief in sight.
Many Organizations such as churches and non-profit groups who aid families and individuals in times of need have already been overwhelmed.
Some fear that with no real relief in sight that this could bring another surge in Covid-19 or it’s variants to South Carolina, causing more severe issues than previously.
The previous moratoriums gave the opportunities for individuals and families to self isolate to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and with this option being gone for several due to evictions, larger scale crowds are expected due to the number of homeless families potential growth rate.