'A Time Bomb Ticking': See Rental Arrears In Mahoning County

YOUNGSTOWN, OH — A federal moratorium on evictions for renters during the coronavirus pandemic is set to expire Saturday, leaving millions worried about the possibility of losing their homes.

Mahoning County is no exception. As of early July, an estimated 4,625 (15.0 percent) of rental households were behind in paying rent, according to a new county-by-county analysis by Surgo Ventures, a nonprofit organization that uses data to analyze health and social problems in communities.

The new analysis found that more than 6 million households nationwide are behind on rent, owing a total of $23 billion.

Dr. Peter Smittenaar, director of data science and artificial intelligence at Surgo Ventures, called the numbers “shocking.”

“It prompted us to raise the alarm on this cliff we’re barreling toward, and we don’t know what’s on the other side of it,” Smittenaar told Patch. “We just don’t know what will happen because we haven’t been here before, so we really wanted to help raise awareness.”

Delinquent Mahoning County households collectively owe $8,906,009 in back rent, according to Surgo Venture's estimates, for an average of $1,928 each.

Ohio and Mahoning County are roughly in line with each other when it comes to the percentage of renters who are behind. About 14 percent of Ohio renters are in arrears.

The federal eviction moratorium will expire Saturday following four extensions and numerous challenges in court. Enacted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in September 2020, the most recent extension of the moratorium was issued in June.

While President Joe Biden has urged Congress to extend the moratorium, federal officials have indicated they have no plans to extend it again.

While a small number of states have given renters a few additional weeks of protection, millions remain worried about losing their homes.

Congress has allocated about $46 million in assistance to U.S. renters over the course of the pandemic; only 10 percent of that was distributed to renters as of June 30, according to U.S. Treasury Department figures provided by Surgo Ventures.

The problem is not whether enough money is available, Smittenaar told Patch, but rather the speed in which it’s reaching renters. Renters need easier access to funding and the process must become more streamlined, Smittenaar told Patch.

“People are struggling. We’ve known this was an issue for a long time and it’s been a time bomb ticking,” Smittenaar said. “It’s disappointing how little of these funds have actually reached people."

Editor’s note: This post was automatically generated using data from Surgo Ventures. Surgo Ventures estimates the Mahoning County rental arrears rate is between 11.4 and 18.6 percent at 95 percent confidence. Feedback can be sent to [email protected].