A federal moratorium on evictions expired over the weekend, potentially putting millions of tenants at risk of eviction just as infections from the delta variant are on the rise.

Transcript

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Landlords across much of the country are now free to evict tenants who've fallen behind on the rent. That's because a federal ban on evictions expired over the weekend. As NPR's Chris Arnold reports, some local governments are scrambling to try and prevent a wave of evictions.

CHRIS ARNOLD, BYLINE: The Supreme Court had effectively blocked the CDC from extending the eviction moratorium past July, and Congress had the power to do that, but not the votes. So with millions of Americans still behind on rent, many people are now likely to lose their homes very quickly.

SAFIYA KITWANA: It's devastating.

ARNOLD: Safiya Kitwana is a single mom with two teenage kids in DeKalb County, Ga. She lost her job during the pandemic, and we've been following her situation as she's been facing eviction. With the CDC order now expired, she's been fearing a knock at the door.

KITWANA: A marshal coming to your door - like, I've seen it happen where they just throw your stuff out in the parking lot. Like, as we speak, it hurts to even talk about that portion of it, like, as far as what my kids are going to see.

ARNOLD: Now, Congress set aside billions of dollars to help people avoid eviction. Kitwana applied for that. She was approved. But DeKalb County, where she lives, because it worried about running out of money, made a rule - it would pay landlords only 60% of what renters owed. So some landlords, like hers, said that wasn't enough money and pushed ahead with eviction.

But now with the CDC moratorium over, the county is suddenly making some big changes. A county judge just put in place an emergency two-month local eviction ban.

MICHAEL THURMOND: This is a godsend, really, for tenants.

ARNOLD: Michael Thurmond is the county's top elected official, and he's announcing another big change.

THURMOND: Landlords will be receiving an increased amount of revenue to cover back rent.

ARNOLD: So that means Safiya Kitwana should now get her debt to her landlord paid in full to avoid eviction and have three months of rent going forward to get back on her feet. We spoke to her yesterday to tell her the news.

KITWANA: In hearing this, it just feel like a lot lifted, a lot lifted. I felt it from my chest up, like, (laughter) everything just lifted. I was like (sighing) - like, it is a huge relief 'cause I just didn't know what I was going to do.

ARNOLD: But in many parts of the country, people are not getting a reprieve. And many of the programs to distribute that federal money have run into big problems. Many states and counties had to set them up from scratch. They've been overwhelmed with people applying. Some of the portals crash, or they even got hacked.

Shamus Roller heads up the National Housing Law Project.

SHAMUS ROLLER: The thing I worry about the most is that you have millions of people across the country who may get evicted over the next couple of months, even though there is enough money coming from the federal government to pay all their back rent.

ARNOLD: Roller says it's crucial that more money gets out the door more quickly so landlords see things are working better and will hold off putting people out of their homes.

Chris Arnold, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.