Over 17% of Latinos surveyed are behind on rent

Soaring rents and the rollback of eviction protections are deeply impacting Latino renters, data shows.

Driving the news: A U.S. Census survey carried out between June 29 and July 11 and released Wednesday found that 17% of Latino tenants said they were behind on their rent.

• Half of those said they’re very or somewhat likely to be evicted in the next two months.
• Just 9% of white non-Hispanic renters said they were behind on rent, and 40% of those said eviction was likely.
• Last month, average rent prices in the U.S. hit $2,000 for the first time, according to real estate company Redfin.

Eviction filings are up in many parts of the country now that local governments have rolled back early-pandemic protections and moratoriums, according to data from Eviction Lab.

• Nonprofit organizations that provide housing and food assistance say they've seen a massive increase in demand.
• The CEO of Camillus House, a Miami organization that provides temporary housing and other services, told Noticias Telemundo that her organization helped nearly as many people in the first four months of 2022 as it did all of last year.
• Activists say rental assistance programs in various states are either insufficient or poorly implemented.

Yes, but: It’s not just rental costs that have soared; homeownership has become wildly expensive, and data shows that by 2025, 60% of households won’t be able to buy a place.

• This could put a dent in Latinos' recent homeownership rate gains.

• Cities in California, New Jersey, Florida and Arizona — all with significant Latino populations — have the most unaffordable housing markets, according to an index from RealtyHop, a property trade platform.

What to watch: The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development recently doubled its funds to strengthen renter protection programs in San Antonio, Miami and other cities.

• A HUD spokesperson said to Axios in an email that data from February shows emergency rental assistance funds are reaching underserved and vulnerable communities. Over 20% of people getting assistance in the fourth quarter of 2021 identified as Latino.

Go deeper: It's cheaper to rent than to buy in 3/4 of U.S. cities

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