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Law360 (May 31, 2020, 8:02 PM EDT )
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| Abdul Rehman Khan |
Today's perspective comes from Newark-based Abdul Rehman Khan, McCarter & English LLP's pro bono fellow for the city of Newark.
What challenges has the pandemic created in your specific area of work?
This pandemic has exposed the social reality for tens of millions of people in this country who are facing the inescapable threat of hunger and homelessness. Nearly a third of Americans have not paid rent since the start of this pandemic, many choosing to feed their families instead.
In Newark, where close to 80% of dwellers live in rental housing, city and state moratoria against evictions are in effect, delaying catastrophic effects once the floodgates are lifted. Newark is among the most severely cost-burdened cities in America: More than one-quarter of tenants spend at least 50% of their income on rent. For these tenants, the impact of the pandemic makes a tenuous situation precarious.
Record numbers of people are unemployed; unfortunately, reports abound of long waits for unemployment assistance and other critical government safety net programs. This means many tenants were simply unable to pay rent on May 1. Commendably, the city has rolled out a one-time assistance program for tenants experiencing loss of income. This program has great potential to alleviate some of the pandemic's worst economic impacts on housing. Tenants need other jurisdictions to follow Newark's lead.
While many landlords have reached out to their tenants to make arrangements and accommodations for those affected by COVID-19, some landlords have unfortunately used housing insecurity to exploit their tenants.
One community organization reports that, even after the moratorium on evictions, all the tenants of a particular building received a letter from their landlord stating that they must pay rent or face immediate eviction, which is not the way the law works even without the moratorium. Another organization reports that undocumented tenants, who are always at heightened risk, have been targeted by a few landlords for the purposes of finding new tenants and increasing rent. Meanwhile, the U.S. Attorney's Office for District of New Jersey has elevated its response to sexual harassment by some landlords who seem to have been emboldened by the increased vulnerability of tenants during this pandemic.
Relief that secures decent housing and protects against the threat of displacement is desperately needed. Being able to stay at home is a luxury, even when it is a statewide mandate — underscoring how important it is for advocates to be working toward laws, policies and procedures that treat affordable, decent housing as a right, not a privilege. Losing one's home can be a source of embarrassment and pain for individuals and families whose lives are thrown into upheaval.
From a big picture perspective, evictions are also deeply destabilizing to communities, disrupting the complex web of relationships that helps community members lift each other up and face crisis — like a global pandemic — from a place of togetherness and strength that builds resilience.
How are you and your family adapting at home?
My wife and I are fortunate to be able to work from home during this pandemic. We are even more fortunate to have a home that is supported by stable sources of income.
Last week, I mindlessly barged into our bedroom and said "WHAT'S UP?" to my wife without realizing that she was on a video call with her team at work. Needless to say, they had a good laugh.
Any issues that we experience working at home — whether it is spotty WiFi, lack of desk space, or getting stir-crazy from being holed up in our one-bedroom apartment — pale in comparison to the true fortune of a stable home. Plus, we have an energetic fuzzy friend. I am mindful always of how lucky we are, and I am determined to do everything I can to help alleviate the challenges faced by tenants whose housing is more tenuous.
What is the most creative or productive response to the crisis you've witnessed so far?
I am constantly inspired and humbled by the creativity and passion of community organizers and community-based organizations in Newark, where I practice. One of the city's most critical organizations, the Ironbound Community Corporation, has managed to bridge the information gap so that residents can understand their rights in regard to evictions by hosting web town halls with a coalition of legal service providers, the last of which 11,000 people attended. It has been an honor to work with them and the others involved in those town halls and humbling to see the breadth and depth of the need for basic information about the eviction process.
Roughly 99% of tenants facing eviction in court are pro se, while close to 99% of landlords are represented, usually by counsel whose primary focus is evictions. With that kind of disparity in representation rates, it is unsurprising that there is a wide gap in information: Tenants who do not have counsel may not have the information they need about their rights and their defenses, and they are at a significant disadvantage. The information gap is so profound that, even now, many tenants in Newark are not even aware that a statewide eviction moratorium is in effect.
To close that gap, Ironbound Community Corporation has gotten creative. Among many other things, they are including housing rights information in the bags of groceries they deliver to food-insecure families, as well as reaching out to local restaurants and businesses to get the word out. They are acutely aware of the wide-ranging, generational consequences of an eviction, particularly for black and brown communities that are already experiencing higher COVID-19 mortality rates, and they have been working hard to drive governmental resources toward those communities in an effort to prevent those consequences.
The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organization, its clients, or Portfolio Media Inc., or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.
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