Sunrise Movement PDX Demands a Suspension of Rent, Mortgage, and Utility Payments Throughout the Duration of the COVID-19 Crisis

Sunrise PDX is a local chapter of the national Sunrise Movement. We are an entirely youth and volunteer-led organization dedicated to winning a Green New Deal to combat the climate crisis and building millions of good jobs in the process. Given the staggering financial hardships COVID-19 continues to impose on community members throughout Oregon, we are formally supporting a suspension of all rents, mortgages, and utilities throughout the remainder of the COVID-19 crisis. 

COVID-19 has drastically increased the number of Oregonians who have been laid off or had their hours reduced. Before this pandemic, one in four renters nationwide spent 50 percent of their income on rent. Now, with so many experiencing loss of work, these payments are far out of reach for many. 

Eviction moratoriums don’t go far enough. The Multnomah County eviction moratorium requires tenants to pay back all missed rent within six months of the crisis. Many low-income and frontline community members who were already living paycheck to paycheck will not be able to afford this debt, and will face eviction at the end of the six month period. Overall, the eviction moratorium does not prevent a surge in houselessness due to COVID-19, it merely delays it. 

Eligibility for the moratorium also requires proof that lost wages are a direct result of COVID-19, which is often impossible for freelancers, people working in the gig economy, and undocumented workers. Beyond the obvious public health implications of leaving more people without homes in the aftermath of a pandemic, this will also increase our vulnerability to the most dangerous impacts of the economic crisis on the horizon. One-third of renters in America were unable to pay April rent and are now accumulating rent and utility debt. We have a choice: lift this burden for the remainder of the crisis or worsen the next stage of the crisis as thousands of people are removed from their homes.

Some argue that between the eviction moratorium and $1,200 stimulus checks people are receiving enough support. However, Oregon residents 

need their federal stimulus to cover urgent bills, and should not be forced to choose between buying food and paying rent. We cannot predict the duration of this crisis, and $1,200 isn’t enough to keep people safe, healthy, and fed for the coming months. Additionally, none of our undocumented community members, and very few of our youth climate activists (17 to 18-year-olds), are eligible to receive these funds at all. If renters’ stimulus dollars are allocated to pay rent then that money, originally intended to aid the working class, ends up in the bank accounts of landlords and corporate property owners. 

We also recognize the urgent need for a suspension of mortgage payments. Low-income homeowners share in this crisis; the deferred mortgage payments under the provisions of the CARES Act are also subject to repayment in six months or less. If people are forced en masse out of their homes, whether through eviction or foreclosure, the insurmountable debt accrued during this crisis will lead to economic ruin for thousands. 

We also need to ensure that affordable housing providers continue to receive the funds needed to keep their doors open. Just as it’s unacceptable that tenants in crisis must give up food to keep a roof over their heads, it’s unacceptable to ask affordable housing providers to jeopardize their solvency and the continued existence of this necessary housing. 

At its core, suspending rent is a racial justice issue: while this crisis is affecting all renters, black, brown, and indigenous folks are disproportionately at risk of losing their homes due to inequities in labor, and wages, and homeownership. Oregon has a long and gruesome history of displacing communities of color; we cannot allow this moment of crisis to enable this pattern to continue. 

We’re at an inflection point: our city and state can decide to follow the lead of the federal government and bail out institutions and individuals with wealth and power, or we can provide relief to those that need it most: working class Oregonians. Our response to this crisis will affect the economic outcomes of thousands. We demand that our governments provide relief to those who need it most.