Investigations

KPBS Race and Equity reporter Cristina Kim brings us two stories on evictions in San Diego. The pandemic inspired a slate of local, state and national eviction bans, and other protections for homeowners and renters to keep people housed. But those protections are going away, leaving renters especially vulnerable to eviction as the San Diego rental market heats up.

When pandemic-inspired protections for homeowners and renters expired, renters especially have become vulnerable to evictions in San Diego’s hot housing market. In this second part of a two part series on evictions, KPBS Race and Equity reporter follows one family that has been forced out of their apartment and their search for new housing. Like thousands of other low-income renters in San Diego, their best option may be to leave the region all together. But there are groups organizing to fight evictions, and a growing tenants’ rights movement in San Diego.

The pandemic inspired a slate of local, state and national eviction bans, and other protections for homeowners and renters to keep people housed. But those protections are going away, leaving renters especially vulnerable to eviction as the San Diego rental market heats up. In Part 1 of a 2 part series, KPBS Race and Equity reporter Cristina Kim looks at the efforts to keep people housed here in San Diego County. We talk about what worked, and who fell through the cracks, and what’s next for the region’s renters and landlords as housing becomes increasingly more expensive and protections evaporate. We also learn about the toll that the threat of evictions places on families and children.

While some officers have yet to be trained, there is hope it has sparked the beginning of a culture change.