How the Government Can Avoid a Housing Catastrophe
Julián Castro says we need to give direct assistance to the most vulnerable renters
America is on the verge of a housing crisis. Nearly a third of Americans didn’t pay rent in April. Landlords and homeowners are worried about foreclosure. Many states and cities have instituted eviction moratoriums, but that just means that missed rent and mortgage payments are piling up. Those who lack housing are once again at the most vulnerable edge of society, with outbreaks in Boston homeless shelters and along Los Angeles’ skid row, while Las Vegas (a city full of empty hotel rooms) is instructing homeless people to camp out in an outdoor parking lot divided into a socially distanced grid.
GEN spoke to the former Housing and Urban Development secretary and onetime presidential candidate Julián Castro about how we got into this mess, how his former agency, in particular, might help alleviate some of the housing shock, and the challenge of convincing Americans to support government interventions.
GEN: How can we stop the coming housing disaster?
Castro: We need to offer direct rental assistance to millions of people who are right on the verge of losing their apartments. Different local communities have put eviction moratoriums in place, but…
