ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Thousands of Florida residents dealt with housing insecurity at the height of the pandemic.

According to the Eviction Lab, it’s a trend that hasn’t slowed down since COVID declined.  

In fact, the study shows evictions in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties have now surpassed pre-pandemic levels. 

Last month, 1,605 eviction filings were recorded for both counties, which is up by 24%.

Daniel Tyson said there may be even more evictions that were unaccounted for because those cases never made it to court. 

The 54-year-old lived in downtown St. Petersburg for years until the pandemic changed everything.

He said he was evicted with limited notice in 2021.

“They gave me six weeks, not six months,” he said.

Pinellas County had not yet passed the Tenant Bill of Rights to protect vulnerable tenants like Tyson.

COVID moratoriums slowed evictions, according to the Eviction Lab, but since they have been lifted, eviction rates are rising.

“It’s become an invaders market,” he said. “We have investors invading and disrupting our own market that we created, and now they’re turning that market against the people that live here to make it unlivable and unsustainable.“

Tyson now lives at the William Park Hotel.

“I’m one of the fortunate ones that I’m working with an up and coming company, but things are still tight,” he said.

He wants his own apartment, but said he’s been priced out of options.

According to rental listing sites, the average rent in St. Petersburg is between $2,076 and $2,626. 

“I should be well off. I should be owning a house, not struggling to make finances and see an end game to my retirement,” Tyson said.

Most of his income goes towards living expenses instead of savings.

“It evaporates,” he said. “The system that keeps moving the bar, that keeps adding more pressure, more different types of pressure so that you can never become financially buoyant.”

Tyson said he’s still recovering from a 2008 crash that affected his IRA accounts.

“I haven’t even contributed to it since then,” he said.

Daniel plans to keep working for the next 20 years and retire at 74-years-old. 

“I’m not the norm, a lot of people are suffering,” he said. “Despite not being rich, I have the strength and energy to press on.” 

He places more value on maintaining his health to get him through his golden years, even if it’s not what he imagined it to be.