The National Foundation for Credit Counseling is a sponsor of "Good Morning America."
Denise Aiyedatiwa, a marketing consultant, had been renting an apartment in Ohio for four years when she said she noticed issues like leaking in her ceiling and plumbing and heating problems.
When the issues started, Aiyedatiwa, now 33, said the building was under a new owner and her multiple requests for help went unanswered.
Several weeks later, Aiyedatiwa said she came home one day to an eviction notice on her apartment's front door.
"It said I had three days' notice," Aiyedatiwa told "Good Morning America" "I had never received an eviction notice before, so it was very scary."
As a renter for her entire adult life, Aiyedatiwa said she had no idea of the extent of landlords' rights. She described a months-long ordeal in which she was served multiple eviction notices and had to hire a lawyer and take her case through the legal system.
"Every waking moment you're like, 'Am I going to wake up and they're just going to have people ... like throwing my things outside of the door," Aiyedatiwa said, noting that the ordeal took a toll on both her physical and mental health.
Ultimately, Aiyedatiwa said she decided to leave her apartment rental in Ohio and relocate to Georgia, a move she estimates cost her thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses.
Through her journey, she quickly learned she was not alone in experiencing the threat of eviction.
"There's a lot of shame with being evicted ... a lot of stigma, a lot of stress, a lot of worrying day-to-day," she said, adding, "'But it's not an embarrassment. It's not something to be shameful. It's not something to feel guilty about. A lot of people are experiencing this. I've experienced it."
Across the country, eviction rates have been on the rise in many cities following the coronavirus pandemic, when temporary interventions by federal, state and local governments helped keep eviction rates low, according to Princeton University's Eviction Lab, which tracks eviction filings in the United States.
In a typical year, landlords in the U.S. file over 3 million eviction cases, according to the university's data.
The renters who are impacted most, data shows, are Black people and women, specifically Black and Latinx women.
According to the Eviction Lab, women of all races face an eviction rate that is 2% higher than men. For Black renters, the rate increases to 4%, and for Latinx renters it jumps to 9%.
Barry Coleman, vice president of program management and education at the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, a nonprofit organization that focuses on financial education and counseling, told "GMA" that NFCC's research shows nearly 60% of Black renters have had a personal experience with eviction, compared to 50% of all renters in the U.S.
"The lack of secure housing can have devastating consequences to our society as a whole," Coleman said. "These consequences are especially profound in communities of color."
Housing insecurity, or instability, is the term used to describe not just a person's inability to pay rent, but also issues like consistent relocations, overcrowding of housing units and excessive spending on housing, according to Coleman.
"As a general rule of thumb, it's suggested that consumers spend no more than 30% of their gross income on their housing," he said. "So, when consumer spending on housing exceeds that amount, then that can sometimes lead to folks' inability to pay the rent in the context of all their other financial obligations."
In 2021, the latest data available, over 20 million households occupied by renters in the U.S. exceeded that 30% threshold, putting them in the category of "cost-burdened," according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Coleman noted that while housing insecurity is often tied to financial difficulties, it can also be a result of difficulties with a landlord, as it was in Aiyedatiwa's case.
"We always encourage consumers to do their homework and have a clear understanding of their rental and other financial contracts, and if they don't understand something, to question it," Coleman said. "Seek advice from professionals, legal professionals and others when it comes to deciphering information that may be in those agreements."
The most obvious consequence of housing insecurity, according to Coleman, is homelessness, which has risen 6% in the U.S. over the past six years, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, a nonprofit organization.
Coleman said that housing insecurity can also disrupt families and communities.
"Housing insecurity affects the whole of our being," Coleman said. "When children don't have stable places to live, it's hard for them to go to school and focus on studying and completing homework. It causes families to worry. It can lead to domestic conflicts."
Although inflation has cooled significantly since its high point last year, Coleman said the concern is that housing insecurity could grow in households across the country if it worsens again.
"When there are sharp increases in [food prices and energy prices], it affects the amount that people have to apply towards their housing situation," he said.
This summer, the NFCC launched a new initiative, Make It R.E.A.L. (Renter Equity At Last). The initiative, supported by the Wells Fargo Foundation, aims to educate renters about their opportunities including free, confidential financial counseling available through the NFCC.
"We are an education organization ... so that's our primary mission, to educate people, whether they're experiencing financial difficulty or they just want to see where they are and develop a plan for the future," Coleman said of NFCC's certified financial counseling options. "They're welcome to come see us."
In addition to free one-on-one budgeting and credit counseling, the NFCC also helps consumers apply for benefits that may help their situation, and can connect consumers with other organizations and resources for further help, according to Coleman.
Here are Coleman's five tips to help individuals achieve housing security.
1. Develop a plan of action if in crisis.
If a person finds themselves in a situation of housing insecurity, the first step, according to Coleman, is to make a plan of action, whether it be financial planning or taking steps to resolve a landlord issue.
The NFCC can help in either situation, Coleman noted, by providing financial counseling and helping connect a person to other resources, including legal aid.
2. Prioritize savings for emergencies.
Coleman recommends aiming to save between 10% and 20% each month so there is money to fall back on if something unexpected happens.
He noted that the pandemic exposed firsthand how little money many people had saved in case of an emergency, like the loss of a job.
"When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, there were many that lost their jobs or had to take jobs with reduced incomes," Coleman said. "And the fact that many did not have adequate savings in place to help them to absorb those financial blows was really a factor."
3. Educate your whole family on financial security.
When it comes to helping to make ends meet, the entire household needs to be involved, according to Coleman.
He said that may look like conversations with other family members in the household about ways to control expenses, whether that be not going out to eat as much or not going on a family vacation, in order to set the family up for success.
"Educate and inform without worrying or making the situation seem impossible, I think is a proven way to approach it," Coleman said.
Coleman added that as parents and caregivers learn more about financial literacy, they should pass on that knowledge.
"Just as important as it is for adults to have a thorough understanding of financial situations and financial education, we believe that children and adolescents and teens should have similar exposure to financial education," he said. "Obviously, parents can't expect their children or family members to understand these things if they're not gaining that knowledge themselves, so as they gain that knowledge, we recommend passing it on to family members."
4. Find resources that can help.
Whether it be taking on a second job, finding a side hustle or meeting with an NFCC counselor, Coleman said it's important to look out for people and organizations that can help.
"One of our strengths is really sitting down with consumers, one-on-one, taking a deep dive into their financial situations, looking at their income, their living expenses, their debts and determining where there may be opportunities to cut back and some areas in order to balance that budget," Coleman said, noting that NFCC helps not only renters but homeowners and people looking to purchase their first home.
5. Read the fine print on rental agreements.
"When [people are] entering into rental agreements with potential landlords, they should be careful to make sure that, first of all, those agreements are in in writing, and that they're legal agreements," Coleman said. "They should be sure that they adhere to the requirements that are within those agreements, and they should hold landlords accountable for meeting the obligations that are spelled out in those agreements."
To learn more about Make It R.E.A.L., and to get help with your own finances, be sure to visit www.nfcc.org or call (800) 388-2227.