Survey results coming out of UCLA and USC highlight the local effect the pandemic, coupled with the eviction ban, have had on L.A. renters.
Surveying 1,000 renter households, the researchers found that an estimated $3 billion is owed in back rent, according to the Real Deal. The data captured runs through March 2021.
Roughly half of those surveyed said they owed their landlord money. The median amount self-reported was $2,800.
Per the report, more than $1.5 million is owed in aggregate, which translates to upwards of $3 billion in pandemic-borne tenant debt throughout L.A. County.
Some 40 percent of renters who were behind on payments also reported using credit cards to help pay rent. In May 2020, another UCLA study estimated more than 365,000 L.A. County tenants would be evicted once the state’s ban expired, the extension of which expires on Oct. 1, 2021.