As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its eighth month, no need has increased as steadily and consistently as landlord-tenant issues. At 2-1-1 helplines across the U.S., requests for help with landlord-tenant issues have nearly tripled since the pandemic began. These requests capture property owners and renters seeking assistance with legal issues, as well as – during COVID – help with emergency-related evictions. We examined 40,506 requests for landlord-tenant issues received by 2-1-1s in 32 states between January 1 and October 13, 2020. Prior to the pandemic, 2-1-1s received about 600 requests per week. As the chart shows, request totals have climbed since then, reaching an average of 1600 requests per week in October. The sharpest rise began in early September as COVID-related rent and eviction protections expired in many communities. Mouse over each bar in the chart to see the number of requests received each day. COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the W.H.O. on March 11, 2020. Data were obtained from 2-1-1s that participate in a daily tracking system, and included: AL, AR, CA, CT, DE, FL, HI, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, NC, NE, NJ, NV, NY, OH, PA, SC, SD, TN, VA, WA, WI and WY.
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