Our capitalist society has, for the most part, been tolerant when it comes to the philosophy of pricing goods and services in line with “what the market will bear.”

But when it comes to housing — particularly rental housing — Connecticut may be in the early stages of learning a hard lesson as escalating rental rates the “market will bear” may also be pricing us out of important and necessary services, driving up crime, demands on public health and education systems, and negatively impacting our quality of life in other subtle ways.

We feel for landlords who were effectively held hostage by selective government overreach during the recent pandemic. It is clear more than a few were taken advantage of by those who opted to exploit hastily enacted mandates that permitted tenants to remain in rental situations with a temporary pause on having to make their contracted rental payments.

It is concerning that these well-intended safety net initiatives failed to look past the immediate crisis to incorporate payback programs as part of a larger plan to help make landlords whole, while retaining responsible tenants who fully exhibited both the willingness and ability to do so.

But that ship has sailed, leaving many landlords holding the (empty) bag and naturally wanting / needing to make up for rent that may have been lost during the pandemic by recalibrating rental rates in line with what others in their neighborhoods are demanding.

Unfortunately, this rush to remunerate has spurred an escalating eviction crisis that may also deliver unwanted collateral damage affecting us all. Today, the National Low Income Housing Coalition states that Connecticut lacks about 89,000 units of housing that are affordable and available to its lowest income renters, and many more are spending too much of their income on housing costs.

The latest study on the subject from CT Voices for Children ties a rising eviction crisis in our state to housing costs that are too high for many families — and a lack of affordable housing, which has worsened since the pandemic subsided, pricing many key contributors to our state workforce out of the very communities where they are employed, including those in front line sectors such as healthcare, retail and food service, childcare, and construction.

The CT Voices study points out the impact of eviction extends far beyond immediately affected households, with negative consequences for community cohesion, divestment, and residential segregation, as well as leading to more crime, homelessness, higher educational and public health costs among others. Furthermore, costs related to evictions such as legal fees, moving expenses, and other financial burdens can ultimately burden communities and the state.

Equally concerning, according to the CT Voices study, evictions and the threat of evictions perpetuate housing and racial injustice, forcing many tenants into grossly overpriced and under-maintained living situations simply because they are terrified of having an eviction on their record.

We encourage anyone interested in the latest and best information of the cause, effects, and suggested solutions to Connecticut’s eviction crisis to visit ctvoices.org to review this report — and then commit to being part of that solution for the good of everyone in our community and across our state.