LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Affordable housing had been a problem before the coronavirus pandemic, but the virus has taken a bad problem and made it even worse.
"This isn't like a case of bad budgeting or making poor decisions," George Eklund said. "This is us stepping up and helping our communities stay healthy at home."
Eklund, the education and advocacy director for the Coalition for the Homeless, said before the pandemic, Louisville's eviction rate was already twice the national average, with rates even higher in certain areas.
"And this is disproportionately affecting communities of color," Eklund said. "If you look at the California neighborhood, that's a 17 percent eviction rate."
With a record number of people losing their income and filing for unemployment as a result of the pandemic, Governor Andy Beshear had ordered a halt on evictions for people unable to pay rent. But the state Supreme Court allowed eviction filings a month earlier than planned, which means landlords can now file evictions for issues other than nonpayment, like lease violations, which Eklund is afraid could be abused.
"Our fear right now is that landlords that are struggling, that are suffering could manufacture reasons as a pretense to get people out so they can get it back on the market," he said.
Louisville Metro Council allocated up to $21.2 million in federal CARES funding for the Eviction Prevention COVID-19 Relief Fund. The fund is for individual households who earn at or below 60 percent of the area median income ($45,840 annually for a family of four) and funding will be prioritized for affordable housing units or properties with more than 50% of their units in the Housing Choice Vouchers Program.
Local utility companies may also have assistance programs though Eklund said more action is needed on the state and federal level when it comes to funding rental assistance programs.
"I think the governor needs to continue to ensure that nobody is going to be evicted for not paying their rent as long as the pandemic is here and as long as our unemployment insurance is still trying to catch up," he said.
But Eklund said individual tenants can also start by having conversations with their landlords.
"Just being up front and saying this is something that nobody could expect, this isn't anything that anybody could have planned for," he said.
The city's Eviction Prevention Fund can be found here. Those looking for assistance from LG&E can click here, and people needing assistance from Louisville Water can click here.
RELATED: Louisville Metro accepting applications for small business grants, eviction prevention assistance
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