Northeast Ohio Groups Worry Evictions Will Spike After Federal Moratorium Expires

The federal CARES Act moratorium on evictions is set to expire at midnight. Some Northeast Ohio groups are worried this leaves millions of Americans in jeopardy of losing their homes.

According to the Greater Ohio Policy Center's Ohio Affordable Housing Learning Exchange, studies estimate that as many as 713,255 Ohio renters could be in danger of eviction this year. That's enough people to fill Progressive Field nearly 21 times.

John Petit is the managing attorney for Community Legal Aid, which is a nonprofit that helps renters facing eviction. He thinks the moratorium expiration will hit northeast Ohio hard.

He says Community Legal Aid is already flooded with requests for assistance, and now with the federal moratorium expiring, he's expecting even more people will need help. 

"What's going to happen when the moratorium is lifted and people who had a subsidy, doesn't mean all their rent is paid, they had a partial rental payment made, but they lost their job, and they still haven't gone back, you know, where are they going to get financial assistance? And if they don't get any assistance, they're going to be evicted," Petit said.

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