FHR Leads Advocacy Effort for Eviction Moratorium Extension

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 7/13/2020

Nonprofits and Foundations Advocate for Statewide Eviction Moratorium Extension

Family Housing Resources (FHR) Spearheads Urgent Request to Governor Ducey

With less than ten days left before a statewide executive order for an Eviction Moratorium expires in Arizona, a group of 14 nonprofit agencies and foundations are working furiously to get Governor Doug Ducey to acknowledge the potential humanitarian and economic crisis that may result if nothing is done. The request is specific to households that have been impacted by COVID-19 and is in line with protections outlined by the CARES Act issued by the United States Congress.

FHR is a regional nonprofit that has taken the lead on sharing critical information and insight into the repercussions of lack of action from the Governor sharing that “hundreds of thousands of Arizona residents [may by] left homeless during the hottest months of the year, exposing them to greater risk of both contracting and spreading COVID-19 as the pandemic crisis escalates in our state,” also citing that [evictions] will “disproportionately impact our most underserved and most vulnerable populations.”

One critical note is that the letter recognizes the struggles of both tenants and landlords/property owners due to the unprecedented repercussions for COVID-19 and outlines that there simply has not been enough time for local governments to process and distribute allocated funds. Statewide there is a current backlog of 8,000 rental assistant requests. “Many tenants have been waiting for months to receive information about support.” In Pima county, “Constables are going door to door trying to inform tenants on the verge of eviction of their rights,” as stated in the letter.

Meghan Heddings, Executive Director of FHR shares, “The estimated numbers and needs are as unprecedented as the times. As a state, we need more time to get allocated rental relief to the landlords that are owed their payments, and we also need more funds allocated to this type of assistance. The repercussions of no action far exceed the costs of keeping Arizonans in their homes and safe, particularly since Arizona is a global hotspot for contracting COVID-19.