Survey finds 30% of Americans unable to make their June housing payments

Researcher Rob Warnock said the number is virtually the same as in May — a sign that the situation has stabilized but also an indication that the problem isn’t getting any better, even as the economy begins to reopen and people return to the workforce.

“So the people who have accumulated a lot of debt over the past few months, unpaid housing payments, those payments are not being forgiven. So just because somebody gets their job back doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to be able to pony up the thousands of dollars in debt they’ve built up over the last few months,” he explained.

Then there are those who are still unemployed, like one Northeast Philadelphia man who declined to give his name who said he’s at least two months behind on his rent because he still hasn’t received unemployment compensation.

“I’m 100% concerned that I'll be released from this house and if I am, I don’t know where I’m gonna go. We’re in the middle of a pandemic right here,” he said. 

Last month, Gov. Tom Wolf signed an executive order suspending evictions and foreclosures. Pennsylvania's moratorium is scheduled to end on July 10, and Wolf hasn’t indicated whether he will extend it. 

New Jersey’s eviction ban will end two months after Gov. Phil Murphy declares an end to the health crisis.

Warnock said eviction proceedings are well underway in some parts of the country.

"Over 10, maybe a dozen or 15 states, have already reopened court and reopened eviction hearings. So there are landlords out there who now are filing eviction notices because the ban on eviction notices expired and now the landlord has the power to take the tenant to eviction court,” he said.