If you have someone who is paying 88 percent of her income on rent, and we have laws that allow a landlord to evict a tenant who falls behind under those circumstances, eviction becomes an inevitability.
Matthew DesmondRead
Eviction is part of a business model at the bottom of the market.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Eviction is often a strategic choice in low-income housing markets, showcasing the challenges faced by tenants.
Matthew Desmond's quote illustrates how the practice of eviction is not merely a consequence of individual circumstances but is ingrained in the business practices of landlords who operate in low-income areas. This reveals the structural issues within the housing market, where vulnerable populations are disproportionately affected by these policies, leading to cycles of poverty and instability.
Themes
EvictionHousingBusinessPovertyEconomics
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on housing policy, one might say, 'As noted by Matthew Desmond, eviction is part of a business model at the bottom of the market.'
More from Matthew Desmond
All quotes βDo we believe housing is a right and that affordable housing is part of what it should mean to be an American? I say yes.
Matthew DesmondRead
The texture and hardship of poverty and eviction is something that I think left the deepest impression on me, and I hope that I try to convey a little bit of that to the reader.
Matthew DesmondRead
When I was confronted with just the bare facts of poverty and inequality in America, it always disturbed and confused me.
Matthew DesmondRead
Arguably, the families most at need of housing assistance are systematically denied it because they're stamped with an eviction record. Moms and kids are bearing the brunt of those consequences.
Matthew DesmondRead
Moms that get evicted are depressed and have higher rates of depressive symptoms two years later. That has to affect their interactions with their kids and their sense of happiness. You add all that together, and it's just really obvious to me that eviction is a cause, not just a condition, of poverty.
Matthew DesmondRead
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