End of eviction ban is a ‘blow’ to SC renters, Biden’s housing secretary says
Marcia Fudge, secretary of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, said the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to end federal eviction protections last week was “another blow” for South Carolina renters.
The court ruling on Thursday overturned a nationwide eviction moratorium, allowing thousands of eviction cases that were temporarily put on hold in South Carolina to resume.
“This state has more evictions than just about every other state in the United States, even before COVID,” Fudge said during a visit to Columbia on Monday. “So the Supreme Court has dealt us another blow.”
A 2016 study from Princeton University’s Eviction Lab found that South Carolina had the highest eviction rate in the country. More recently, August survey data published by the U.S. Census Bureau found that 68% of South Carolina renters said they were likely or very likely to be evicted in the next two months. That’s compared to 43% of renters nationally.
Fudge visited Columbia as part of an effort to encourage people to get the COVID vaccine. She spent the morning at a housing roundtable discussion with Mayor Steve Benjamin, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, a Columbia Democrat, the CEO of the Columbia Housing Authority, Ivory Mathews and others local housing advocates.
She also toured the Regal Lounge Men’s Barbershop & Spa, which was hosting a special vaccination clinic through a White House initative called “Shots at the Shop.” The program is focused on promoting vaccine education in Black communities by engaging Black-owned barbershops.
“They say when America gets a cold, Black folk get pneumonia,” Fudge said. “We’ve got pneumonia, ya’ll. Get a shot.”
Fudge also spoke about how some states, including South Carolina, have struggled to dole out millions of dollars of federal rent assistance in a timely manner.
“Certainly we’re doing our part, but the states have the money,” she said. “The municipalities have the money,”
In South Carolina, Anderson, Berkeley, Charleston, Greenville, Horry, Richland and Spartanburg counties are in charge of distributing aid to their own residents. SC Housing is responsible for helping renters in the remaining 39 counties. As of last Friday, that agency had only distributed $17.2 million of the $271 million it was allocated despite receiving 4,195 completed applications.
As far as HUD’s role in the distribution, Fudge said the department is urging all landlords who participate in the federal Section 8 housing voucher program to help their residents apply for assistance.
She also discussed several Biden administration housing initiatives including his sweeping “Build Back Better” agenda, which includes $2 trillion for affordable housing programs.
“We have to find a way to make sure that people who are poor, or low income or even my income can live in decent neighborhoods,” she said, “Or we have to make sure we invest in the neighborhoods that need investment.”
This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 4:00 PM.
