More than 5 million households still behind on their rent

With roughly two more months before the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ends the three-year Covid public health emergency, more than 5 million of the nation’s households remain behind on their rent.

All together, tenants continued to owe nearly $11 billion in rental debt during the first two weeks of February, according to data by the National Equity Atlas. On average, renters who are behind owe $2,094.

Fortunately, the public health crisis led to the creation of a number of new protections for struggling renters, some of which remain in place.

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