Half of Asheville households rent. Some now call to cancel housing payments.

ASHEVILLE - In an office parking lot a few blocks from downtown, clusters of people, many dressed in black, congregated by banners, signs and flags hung from their vehicles.

“Capitalism is the virus” one banner said. “Housing for all” and “Cancel the rents” read two others. In colorful duct tape, someone had spelled out “No work, No rent” on the side of a pickup truck.

"I'm worried about my fellow tenants who are out of a job," said Mary Bee, who was placed on paid leave amid COVID-19.

Cyclists joined the huddle of cars as organizers handed out maps of a route through Asheville. Soon, they set out, calling for the cancellation of rent and mortgage payments.

The group, Unemployed Humans Organizing Help!, or UHOH!, organized this car parade for May 1, International Worker’s Day and the date monthly rents become due for many tenants. While UHOH! representatives declined to comment for this story, the banners waving from cars were clear. 

Even before COVID-19, thousands of Asheville-area renters directed significant portions of their incomes to cover housing costs in a city where nearly half of all households rent. Now with unemployment and furloughs skyrocketing, some local residents echo nationwide demands to halt rent and mortgage payments.

'It's not necessarily a rent strike'

As COVID-19 thrusts many into economic turmoil, talks of rent strikes have sprung up across the country, in New York City, Seattle, St. Louis and elsewhere. During rent strikes, tenants collectively refuse to pay rents, either because they can't pay or in solidarity with those who cannot. In late April, a car parade through Durham called for rent strikes as long as the COVID-19 outbreak persisted.   

Statewide, housing advocates stress rent strikes are not always choices.

“What we're seeing is that people are just naturally not able to pay the rent,” said Jessica Maria Moreno, housing justice organizer with Action NC, a nonprofit based in Durham and Charlotte. “So, it's not necessarily a rent strike. People have no other option."

In April, North Carolina Chief Justice Cheri Beasley extended an order to postpone all non-emergency hearings, including eviction hearings, until June 1. While landlords can continue filing evictions, no tenants can be forced to leave homes until they have a hearing.

As managing attorney at Pisgah Legal Services, Robin Merrell fears some people, come next month, may find themselves evicted.  

“Ultimately, people's rent is going to become due," Merrell said. “Courts are going to open back up, and people can be evicted for not paying.”

According to the city of Asheville-commissioned Bowen National Research, close to half of the roughly 19,700 renting households in the city are “cost burden households.” This means these households pay more than 30% of their incomes toward housing costs. The report found 25% of Asheville home owners are equally cost burdened.

Paul D'Angelo, community development program director for the city of Asheville, said the city anticipates additional federal funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for "low- and moderate-income households." 

"This funding could possibly be used for rental assistance; however, it has not yet been received," D'Angelo said. "The Community Development Division is focused on identifying where the community needs and gaps exist so as to not duplicate services and assistance when this funding becomes available."

The city of Asheville has given $100,000 to One Buncombe, a COVID-19 response fund run by the Buncombe County Service Foundation. 

Seeking state and federal rental relief

On April 23, a statewide coalition of housing advocates, including Moreno at Action NC, sent Gov. Roy Cooper a letter demanding the state step in to aid tenants. Among the letter’s 14 requests included pausing non-emergency evictions until July 1 and then barring new eviction filings starting July 2 for tenants facing coronavirus-related economic hardships. The letter also requests the governor establish a landlord assistance fund, for property owners who accommodate financially struggling tenants.

“People are not going to be able to pay, two, three, fours months of rent up front,” Moreno said. “There is going to be a mass eviction situation for people. People are going to be between a rock and a hard place if we don't do something about it, and the homelessness rate is going to be off the roof.”

On April 17, Rep. Ilhan Omar D-Minnesota, introduced a bill to the U.S. Congress that would implement a national postponement of all rents and mortgage payments during the coronavirus pandemic. Included in the bill is a path for landlords to have their losses covered by the federal government.

Push for cordial housing dynamics

At Pisgah Legal, Merrell said she’s received a slight uptick in reports of unlawful landlord actions — like cutting off utilities or locking out tenants without eviction hearings — since the coronavirus outbreak. If tenants suspect any landlord wrongdoing, Merrell recommended they reach out to Pisgah.  

Yet while she's heard some calls for local rent strikes, Merrell said there’s room within most tenant-landlord relationships for dialog. Many local landlords may face difficulties of their own.

“Particularly in the mountains, we seem to have a lot of what we call mom-and-pop landlords, people who might have two units or one unit, and it’s an income supplement for them” Merrell said.

She suggested tenants who’ve lost income talk through their financial realities with their landlords, ask for payment extensions, contact local charities and One Buncombe, and consider using the federal stimulus check toward rents. 

The Apartment Association of Western North Carolina, which represents landlords for more than 13,000 housing units across the region, also desires a conciliatory housing dynamic.

“Just like residents, housing providers are also facing a loss of income and they have mounting bills such as mortgages, property tax, utilities, and payroll, said AAWNC President Kelly Knoble. “These are unprecedented times, and our association is encouraging residents and housing providers to maintain open communication and explore payment plan options.”

Angela Wilhelm contributed reporting to this story.

Brian Gordon is the education and social issues reporter for the Citizen Times. He's won awards for stories on schools and guinea pigs. Reach him at bgordon@citizentimes.com or on Twitter @briansamuel92.

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