The Covid-19 crisis has caused unemployment to explode and millions of people can no longer pay their rent.

Unemployment in the United States is out of control. Companies that have had to close because of the risks associated with the Covid-19 epidemic have laid off or put on short-time work millions of Americans.

The federal government has so far saved the day by passing the CARES Act, which guarantees weekly checks of $ 600 [512 euros] to anyone receiving unemployment benefits, and imposes a moratorium on evictions.

If nothing is done, millions of citizens impoverished by the crisis could be evicted from their homes. A third of Americans could not pay their rent in July. According to a study by Stout Risius Ross, a consultancy firm, nearly 12 million households risk eviction in the next four months.

Among the 71 million people questioned in a survey of the census office, 9 million were "not confident in their ability to pay their rent the following month", and 14 million had only "little confidence". In New York and Houston, almost one in three tenants doubts that they will be able to pay their due on time.

The Covid-19 Eviction Project estimates that 30 million tenants could be affected. However, it remains difficult to estimate exactly how many evictions will take place.

The federal state should intervene again. Massive waves of evictions are sure to trickle down to homeowners, which would only shift the problem. The real estate market would be deeply destabilized, too many empty houses tending to lower the value of property.