FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, September 25, 2020

STATEMENT OF VIRGINIA POVERTY LAW CENTER

On House and Senate Budget Language Regarding the Eviction Moratorium

RICHMOND, VA – We are very disappointed in the language related to evictions in both the House and Senate budgets. The language doesn’t stop landlords from evicting people in the midst of a global health pandemic for minor lease violations such as having a guest stay too long. Even the protections it provides for tenant who aren’t able to pay their rent aren’t strong enough, since tenants can lose those protections through no fault of their own if the rental assistance agency doesn’t act quickly enough. In short, we fear that this language will leave thousands of tenants vulnerable to eviction during this pandemic.

However, there are still several steps left in the budget process. We look forward to continuing to work with legislators to ensure that all tenants can remain safely in their homes until the present health emergency ends.

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CONTACT:

Christie Marra, Director of Housing Advocacy, Virginia Poverty Law Center
christie@vplc.org
(804) 351-5275

 Monica Lauw, Communications Director, Virginia Poverty Law Center
monica@vplc.org
(804) 351-5262