COVID-19 and Homelessness: Legal & Policy Responses Explained

Table of Contents#

1. The Intersection of COVID-19 and Homelessness: A Perfect Storm
2. Key Legal Responses to Protect Homeless Populations
   • 2.1 Eviction Moratoriums: Halting the "Second Wave" of Homelessness
   • 2.2 Public Health Orders: Expanding Shelter and Reducing Congestion
   • 2.3 Enforcement of "Right to Shelter" Laws
3. Policy Interventions: From Emergency Relief to Long-Term Solutions
   • 3.1 Emergency Housing: Hotel and Motel Conversions
   • 3.2 Rental Assistance: Stabilizing Housing for At-Risk Households
   • 3.3 Supportive Services: Addressing Health and Social Needs
4. Challenges in Implementation: Gaps and Shortcomings
5. Long-Term Implications: Lessons for Future Policy
6. Conclusion
7. References

The Intersection of COVID-19 and Homelessness: A Perfect Storm#

Before COVID-19, homelessness was already a pressing issue in many countries. In the U.S., for example, over 580,000 people experienced homelessness on a single night in 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The pandemic amplified this crisis in three critical ways:

1. Economic Shocks: Widespread job loss (over 22 million jobs lost in the U.S. alone by April 2020) left millions unable to pay rent, pushing low-income households to the brink of eviction and homelessness.
2. Shelter Risks: Traditional homeless shelters, often overcrowded and under-resourced, became hotbeds for virus transmission. Social distancing was impossible, and access to hygiene facilities (e.g., handwashing stations) was limited.
3. Health Disparities: Homeless individuals face higher rates of chronic illnesses (e.g., diabetes, asthma) and limited access to healthcare, making them more likely to develop severe COVID-19 symptoms or die from the virus.

These factors created a "perfect storm," necessitating urgent legal and policy action to protect lives and prevent a surge in homelessness.

Key Legal Responses to Protect Homeless Populations#

Legal measures focused on two primary goals: preventing new homelessness (by stopping evictions) and reducing virus transmission in existing homeless settings (by expanding shelter capacity and enforcing public health rules).

2.1 Eviction Moratoriums: Halting the "Second Wave" of Homelessness#

Evictions were a major driver of homelessness pre-pandemic, and COVID-19 threatened to worsen this. To stem the tide, governments implemented temporary eviction moratoriums—legal bans on landlords evicting tenants for nonpayment of rent.

• Federal Action (U.S.): The CARES Act (March 2020) imposed a 120-day moratorium on evictions for tenants in federally subsidized housing or with federally backed mortgages. This was later extended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through August 2021, covering most private renters. The moratorium required tenants to declare hardship (e.g., job loss, medical expenses) to qualify.
• State and Local Measures: Many states (e.g., California, New York) and cities (e.g., Los Angeles, Chicago) implemented their own moratoriums, often with broader coverage (e.g., including non-federally backed housing) and longer timelines. For example, California’s moratorium lasted until June 2022, with protections for tenants who paid at least 25% of rent during the pandemic.

Impact: Eviction moratoriums temporarily reduced homelessness by keeping millions in their homes. A 2021 study by the Urban Institute estimated that the CDC moratorium prevented 1.5 to 2.5 million evictions. However, critics argued moratoriums placed financial strain on small landlords, many of whom faced mortgage defaults themselves.

2.2 Public Health Orders: Expanding Shelter and Reducing Congestion#

To address virus spread in shelters, public health agencies issued orders to decongest facilities and expand temporary housing.

• Shelter Capacity Limits: The CDC and state health departments mandated reducing shelter density (e.g., 6 feet of spacing between beds) and limiting group sizes. This often required shelters to turn away new clients, creating a paradox: reducing crowding to prevent COVID-19 risked leaving people unsheltered.
• Hotel/Motel Conversions: To solve this, governments partnered with hotels and motels to convert rooms into temporary housing. For example:
  • The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provided funding for the "Emergency Solutions Grant" program, which paid for hotel rooms for homeless individuals, particularly those at high risk for severe COVID-19.
  • California’s "Project Roomkey" (later renamed "Project Homekey") used state and federal funds to lease over 15,000 hotel/motel rooms by 2021, providing safe, private housing with meals and healthcare access.

Impact: Hotel conversions reduced shelter crowding and COVID-19 transmission. A 2021 CDC study found that homeless individuals in hotel settings had lower COVID-19 infection rates (1.4%) compared to those in shelters (5.7%).

2.3 Enforcement of "Right to Shelter" Laws#

Some regions, like New York City, have long-standing "right to shelter" laws, which legally require the government to provide temporary housing to anyone experiencing homelessness. During COVID-19, courts and advocates pushed to enforce these laws more strictly to ensure no one was left on the streets during the pandemic.

• NYC Example: In April 2020, a New York Supreme Court judge ruled that the city must provide shelter to all homeless individuals, including those not previously eligible (e.g., single adults). This led to the city leasing additional hotels and expanding shelter capacity by 50%.

Impact: While right to shelter laws ensured access to housing, they strained city budgets. NYC spent over $1 billion on homeless services in 2020, a 30% increase from 2019.

Policy Interventions: From Emergency Relief to Long-Term Solutions#

Beyond legal bans and public health orders, policymakers introduced targeted programs to address both immediate needs and underlying causes of homelessness.

3.1 Emergency Housing: Hotel and Motel Conversions (Beyond Public Health)#

While hotel conversions began as a public health measure, some programs aimed to transition temporary housing into permanent solutions.

• Project Homekey (California): Building on Project Roomkey, Homekey purchased hotels and motels to convert them into permanent supportive housing (PSH)—affordable housing with on-site services like mental health counseling and job training. By 2023, Homekey had converted over 12,000 units, housing over 15,000 people.
• Canada’s "Reaching Home" Program: The Canadian government allocated $1.1 billion to convert hotels into affordable housing, with a focus on Indigenous communities and vulnerable populations.

3.2 Rental Assistance: Stabilizing Housing for At-Risk Households#

To prevent evictions once moratoriums expired, governments provided direct rental assistance to low-income tenants.

• U.S. Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Programs: The CARES Act (2020) and American Rescue Plan (2021) allocated $46.5 billion in ERA funds to states and localities. These programs covered back rent, future rent, and utility bills for eligible households (e.g., income below 80$30 billion had been distributed, helping over 5 million households.
• European Union (EU) Support: The EU’s "Housing First" initiative provided €120 million in grants to member states to fund rental subsidies and homelessness prevention programs during the pandemic.

3.3 Supportive Services: Addressing Health and Social Needs#

Homelessness is often linked to complex issues like mental illness, substance abuse, and lack of healthcare. COVID-19 highlighted the need to integrate these services into housing solutions.

• Telehealth and Mobile Clinics: To expand healthcare access, many cities deployed mobile clinics to shelters and encampments, offering COVID-19 testing, vaccines, and treatment for chronic illnesses. Telehealth services also allowed remote mental health counseling.
• Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Support: The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) allocated $3 billion in COVID relief funds to expand SUD treatment, including medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in shelters.

Challenges in Implementation: Gaps and Shortcomings#

Despite these efforts, legal and policy responses faced significant challenges:

• Funding Shortfalls: Many programs, like hotel conversions and rental assistance, relied on one-time emergency funding. As federal aid dried up, states and cities struggled to sustain services. For example, NYC’s hotel shelter program faced budget cuts in 2022, leading to the closure of 20,000 beds.
• Bureaucracy and Access Barriers: Rental assistance programs were often slow to distribute funds due to complex application processes. A 2021 survey by the National Low Income Housing Coalition found that only 1 in 4 eligible households received ERA aid.
• Stigma and Resistance: Some communities opposed hotel conversions, citing concerns about crime or property values. This led to delays in implementing housing projects, particularly in wealthier neighborhoods.
• Marginalized Groups Left Behind: LGBTQ+ youth, Black and Indigenous populations, and people with disabilities were overrepresented in homeless populations but often underserved by generic policies. For example, trans individuals faced discrimination in shelter placements, leading to higher rates of unsheltered homelessness.

Long-Term Implications: Lessons for Future Policy#

COVID-19 demonstrated that homelessness is not inevitable—it is a policy choice. Key lessons for future action include:

• Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) Works: Programs like Project Homekey showed that combining affordable housing with supportive services reduces homelessness and improves health outcomes. Policymakers should prioritize funding PSH as a long-term solution.
• Rental Protections Are Critical: Eviction moratoriums and rental assistance prevented a homelessness crisis during COVID-19. Permanent policies, like rent stabilization and universal rental assistance, could prevent future surges.
• Health and Housing Are Interconnected: Integrating healthcare (e.g., mental health, addiction services) into housing programs improves both health equity and housing stability.
• Equity Must Be Centered: Policies must explicitly address racial, gender, and LGBTQ+ disparities in homelessness, ensuring marginalized groups have equal access to services.

Conclusion#

COVID-19 tested the resilience of legal and policy frameworks for addressing homelessness, revealing both successes and gaps. Eviction moratoriums, hotel conversions, and rental assistance provided critical relief, but funding shortages, bureaucracy, and systemic inequities limited their impact. Moving forward, the pandemic underscores the need for bold, sustained investments in permanent supportive housing, rental protections, and equitable service delivery. By learning from these responses, we can build a future where homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring.

References#

• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). (2021). 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2021). COVID-19 Outbreaks in Homeless Shelters—United States, March 2020–February 2021.
• Urban Institute. (2021). Estimating the Effects of the CDC Eviction Moratorium.
• National Low Income Housing Coalition. (2021). Emergency Rental Assistance Program: A Status Update.
• California Department of Housing and Community Development. (2023). Project Homekey: By the Numbers.
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). (2020). COVID-19 Funding for Substance Use Disorder Treatment.