Renters face a growing debt burden

The coronavirus pandemic has cost millions their jobs, and that means many tenants haven’t been able to pay rent, landlords have had trouble making mortgage payments and other bills are also stacking up. Sarah “Fred” Sherburn-Zimmer, director of the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco, and Katrina Logan, director of the economic advancement program at Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto, discuss the potential effects. Debt can be sold to collections agencies, and even keep renters from accessing affordable housing, they said.

Civic · Mel Baker, Laura Wenus