Climate change is on a collision course with the affordability crisis in U.S. housing — and renters are poised to fare the worst. That's the conclusion of a new report from Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies, which found that renters face the greatest risk from climate-related disasters striking their homes. Renters are also largely left behind in efforts to upgrade and fortify U.S. housing stock. As rental demand reaches an all-time high (and prices skyrocket in tandem), the report calls for a "permanent, fully funded housing safety net" and firm measures to protect existing housing from the next major disasters.
Last year set records for climate-related disasters in the U.S. More than 40 percent of Americans lived in counties that experienced a federally-declared disaster, and the country faced 20 different climate catastrophes with billion-dollar price tags. The year also saw record increases in rents along with generalized inflation — and the end of the federal government's eviction ban, which lasted (in different forms) from the onset of the pandemic until the fall of 2021.
