After a hard time for renters, cities and states pass new protections

The coronavirus pandemic brought unprecedented hardship to renters, at one point leaving as many as 40 million people at risk of losing their homes.

That the situation got so bad, so quickly for tenants revealed long-lasting issues of housing instability in the U.S., caused by rapidly rising rents and stagnant wages, advocates say.

It also led to action.

Over the last two years, states and cities have passed dozens of laws granting tenants additional rights.

“The Covid pandemic has seen a new era of renter protections across the U.S.,” said Kshama Sawant, a member of the Seattle City Council.

“Facing this mountain of debt and a likely tsunami of…