New Orleans Residents Struggle To Keep Homes

Three months after fighting for their lives in the days after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, many survivors are now fighting to keep their homes in the city of New Orleans.

Louisiana had some of the weakest tenant protection laws in the nation even before Katrina hit. And in the weeks after the storm, landlords began evicting thousands of people a day, most of whom had evacuated the city. The landlords cite increased insurance costs and the need to repair damaged property. They also point out that neither FEMA nor the state, are helping them to pay their bills. But there have been many reports of landlords jacking up the rents of undamaged property and evicting people who tried to pay their rent.