The federal moratorium on eviction expired this past weekend, and millions of people across the country who are behind on their rent could end up on the streets, including thousands of New Yorkers. 

The moratorium expiring means landlords who are tired of not receiving rent from their tenants can now take them to court - and millions of renters could end up without a home. 

Over the weekend, housing advocates and elected officials such as Rep. Jamaal Bowman and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rallied outside the Capitol building, pushing the House to reconvene and extend the moratorium. 

The Democratic Party tried to pass an extension bill, but it was rejected by the Senate. The White House says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was unable to find the authority to revive the moratorium and is calling on states to act. 

Now, the New York state eviction moratorium won’t be expiring until the end of August, but a study by the New York Times showed that in the Bronx alone, households that are behind on rent owe an average of around $4,200. 

Rep. Ritchie Torres, who has been at the forefront of fighting for housing rights, says Congress’ inability to extend the moratorium was a failure of leadership across the board. 

“There are more than 60,000 evictions that have been filed. So the moment the moratorium expires, both at the state and federal levels, we are opening the floodgates to mass evictions. and it will have a disproportionate impact on the Bronx. among the 10 neighborhoods with the highest number of eviction cases, eight of those neighborhoods are in the Bronx,” said Rep. Torres. 

Rep. Torres is also calling on New York state to distribute the Emergency Rental Assistance funds more quickly so fewer New Yorkers would end up on the streets.