Without more intentional, long-term solutions and investments, an extension of the moratorium on evictions for renters will only postpone an inevitable housing crisis, a new survey shows.

“Data from our recent survey indicates that the impact of COVID-19 on homeowners not only still exists, but it has significantly worsened, especially among Black and Hispanic households and young adults,” says Michal Grinstein-Weiss, professor and director of the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis.

Grinstein-Weiss is the principal investigator for the institute’s Socioeconomic Impacts of COVID-19 Survey, administered in late April and early May (Wave 1) and late August (Wave 2) to over 5,000 nationally representative US households each time.

“We found that the eviction/foreclosure rate of Black and Hispanic respondents increased by 7% as compared to only 2% among white respondents,” Grinstein-Weiss says. “Additionally, Black respondents were almost twice as likely to be forced to move as non-Hispanic white respondents in Wave 2 (late August), despite being least likely to be forced to move during Wave 1 (early May).

“While the jump in eviction risk among Black households is certainly alarming, Hispanic respondents maintain the highest vulnerability to eviction among the three groups both in Wave 1 and Wave 2."

Read the full article about COVID’s eviction impact by Neil Schoenherr at Futurity.