Since the summer of 2020, we’ve documented the impact of the pandemic on housing and evictions. We followed tenants, landlords, lawyers, judges, sheriffs and social workers across the U.S. who were affected. Click here to subscribe to our newsletters

Facing Eviction

Producer and Writer: Bonnie Bertram
Editor: Anne Checler
Co-Producers: Anne Checler and Erik German
Associate Producer: Emily Orr
Field Producers: Daniel Casarez and Brian Palmer

To stave off a nationwide housing crisis during the coronavirus pandemic, Washington lawmakers passed a massive spending package and officials implemented new housing policies, including a nationwide ban on evictions. In cities across the nation, Retro Report and PBS Frontline captured this unprecedented period. Reporting from Texas, California, New Jersey and elsewhere, reporters examined this massive, years-long experiment in housing policy through the eyes of tenants, landlords, social workers and court officers who were on the frontlines.

A special thank you to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and Economic Hardship Reporting Project for supporting this project.

Educators, check out this video’s lesson plan.

Related:
The Wall Street Journal ‘Facing Eviction’ Review: When Help Is Less Than Helpful: ‘Frontline’ looks at tenants and landlords across the U.S. struggling with the complex bureaucracy of eviction moratoriums in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis.
Morning Joe (MSNBC Live TV Interview) Interview with Facing Eviction Writer and Producer Bonnie Bertram
Washington Journal (C-SPAN National Television) Interview with Facing Eviction Writer and Producer Bonnie Bertram
The Cross Connection (MSNBC National TV) Interview with Retro Report Executive Producer Kyra Darnton
Forum (KQED San Francisco) Interview with Facing Eviction Writer and Producer Bonnie Bertram
In the Moment (South Dakota Public Broadcasting Radio) Interview with Facing Eviction Writer and Producer Bonnie Bertram
The Source (Texas Public Radio) Interview with Facing Eviction Writer and Producer Bonnie Bertram
Houston Matters (Houston Public Broadcasting) Interview with Facing Eviction Co-Producer Erik German
The Morning Show (KGO San Francisco Commercial Radio) Interview with Facing Eviction Writer and Producer Bonnie Bertram
Think (KERA Texas NPR) Interview with Facing Eviction Writer and Producer Bonnie Bertram
The Wall Street Journal What to Watch: The 18 Best New Movies and TV Shows From July
Daily Journal Facing Eviction mentioned in the Kankakee
TV Insider Facing Eviction mentioned in TV highlights
Star Tribune Facing Eviction highlighted

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Pulitzer Center Economic Hardship Reporting Project
Transcript
 
Tenants Facing Eviction Over Covid-19 Look to a 1970s Solution

Tenants Facing Eviction Over Covid-19 Look to a 1970s Solution

An idea from a tenant rebellion in the 70s could help renters facing eviction.

 New York Tenants Are Organizing Against Evictions, as They Did in the Great Depression

New York Tenants Are Organizing Against Evictions, as They Did in the Great Depression

Activists concerned about pandemic-related homelessness are seeking rent relief. In the 1930s, tenants banded together against evictions.

 How Decades of Housing Discrimination Hurts Fresno in the Pandemic

How Decades of Housing Discrimination Hurts Fresno in the Pandemic

Decades of discrimination in Fresno laid the groundwork for a housing crisis today.

 Burden of Richmond Evictions Weighs Heaviest in Black Neighborhoods

Burden of Richmond Evictions Weighs Heaviest in Black Neighborhoods

An eviction moratorium has slowed filings in cities like Richmond, but it hasn’t stopped them, and Black tenants are at highest risk.