For Star subscribers: All over the west, renters are being displaced when their apartments are converted to condos or their mobile home parks are sold to developers looking for land to build on.
Note: This story is part of Squeezed Out, a series from Lee Enterprises that focuses on the escalating housing crisis in the West. Across the region, costs associated with renting or buying property have skyrocketed, forcing many individuals and families to redefine the meaning of home. More than one dozen reporters, photographers and editors across the West contributed to this project.
As renters are priced out, they are forced into dilapidated apartments or shabby motel rooms — or they fail to find stable housing at all and end up homeless, according to interviews with more than a dozen renters in six western states. Across the West, rents have been skyrocketing, with some places seeing payments from new residents soar by 30% or 40% since the start of the pandemic, according to Apartment List. As of July, Idaho had seen the largest statewide jump in the nation — rents are up 45% since March 2020.
After a $200 rent hike a few weeks earlier, car troubles, inflation and losing their access to food stamps, money was tight. Too tight. ‘We can’t afford the rent’Idaho resident Marj Hayfield, 50, has been searching for a new apartment since May. They also still have to worry about car payments, medical bills and day care for Hayfield’s grandson. They’ve started relying on local food banks to get by.
The changes mirror the COVID-19 pandemic, which sparked more remote work and prompted people to rethink where they live. Starting in March 2020, Apartment List data shows a trend of people moving inland from the coast or moving from the heart of major cities to the outskirts, Warnock said. In the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, rent has increased 42% since the start of the pandemic, putting the median price of a two-bedroom on par with Phoenix at $1,500, according to the same data. Over that time period, rents increased 41% in Tucson and 40% in Mesa and Avondale.
Perry White wasn’t so lucky. The 65-year-old Army veteran has lived in a homeless camp in Elko, Nevada, for the last five years. He’s growing weary of the wind that batters his tent and the temperature extremes. Reno renter Laura Getchell, 57, said she got a letter from her landlord in May stating rent was increasing from $939 to $1,560 a month — a more than $620 hike.
Argentina Últimas Noticias, Argentina Titulares
Similar News:También puedes leer noticias similares a ésta que hemos recopilado de otras fuentes de noticias.
Star Wars: The Acolyte Adds Russian Doll Star Charlie BarnettCharlie Barnett, best known for his role in Netflix's Russian Doll, is reportedly in talks to [...]
Leer más »
William Shatner Feels the Urgency and Awe of AgingAt 91, actor William Shatner still feels awe at life’s mysteries: “I probably say ‘wow’ more now than when I was a child.”
Leer más »
Fletcher, New Jersey's queer pop hero, is ready to explodeAn in-depth profile of Fletcher, Asbury Park's biggest star since Springsteen
Leer más »
‘Industry’ Star Marisa Abela Takes ControlThe Industry star opens up about playing Yasmin, her upcoming role in Barbie, and why she almost became a human rights lawyer.
Leer más »
'Do Revenge' stars Camila Mendes and Maya Hawke discuss teen roles, villains and fake woke menMachiavellian schemes and betrayals galore ensue in the nimble two-hander, whose brightly textured world nods to the ‘90s teen movies, like “Clueless,” “Cruel Intentions” and “Jawbreaker,” that influenced the writer-director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson.
Leer más »