Renters brace for evictions as moratorium expires, virus cases resurge

The moratorium preventing evictions for vulnerable Americans who rent their homes lapsed over the weekend.

A major lifeline for millions of Americans was precipitously cut off over the weekend, leaving many families that are still reeling from the economic shock wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic now also at risk of losing their homes. Notwithstanding last-minute scrambles from some lawmakers to extend it, the federal eviction moratorium instituted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expired at midnight on Saturday. The lapse in the pandemic-era protection that shielded vulnerable Americans from homelessness during the health crisis also comes as coronavirus cases resurge across the country. Millions of renters are now bracing for what happens next. "It's more than stress, it's depression -- this is rock bottom," Jim Shock, 53, a West Virginia native who lost his job amid the pandemic and now faces eviction, told ABC News. "I don't see an upside, and I don't mind being humbled, being humbled doesn't bother me. Struggles give you strength, and I'm all about all that. But yeah, this is probably as bad as it's been, and I don't know what I'm going to do."