Fast-growing rents and disappearing rental assistance programs have given way to a concerning rise in eviction filings compared to pre-pandemic norms, “The Wall Street Journal” revealed on Monday.
At Inman Connect Las Vegas, July 30-Aug. 1, 2024, the noise and misinformation will be banished, all your big questions will be answered, and new business opportunities will be revealed. Join us.
Nearly three years after the Supreme Court ended President Biden’s emergency eviction moratorium, eviction filings are bursting past pre-2020 levels as Americans struggle to keep up with double-digit rent growth in some of the nation’s largest markets.
According to Princeton University Eviction Lab’s data for 33 cities and 10 states across the U.S., total eviction filings settled back to pre-2020 levels thanks to lawmakers in some of the nation’s largest cities enacting stronger tenant protections. However, metro-level data revealed eviction filings are 35 percent higher than pre-2020 averages in 12 of the 33 cities covered in its latest analysis.
“Increasing rents have made it difficult for a lot of households in many areas, and you can see that reflected in the eviction filing increases,” Eviction Lab researcher Jacob Haas told The Wall Street Journal on Monday.
The WSJ found that property management platforms are partially responsible for the jump in eviction filings, as they have features that automate portions of the eviction filing process for landlords. Eviction-court hearings are going faster, too, with a publicly available broadcast of hearings in Phoenix revealing that judges often take less than a minute to approve a landlord’s eviction request.
After a hearing, tenants may still be able to strike a deal with their landlord before the eviction date. A growing share of renters are turning to GoFundMe to raise money, with the number of eviction-related fundraisers on the site skyrocketing 45 percent above pre-2020 trends.
Even if they successfully raise money to stave off eviction efforts, it’s not a long-term solution for tenants facing eviction due to job loss, mounting medical bills or other emergencies. In addition, the eviction filing can still become part of their record — making it more difficult for them to rent in the future.
“Unfortunately, there are amounts of back-rent that have built up,” said National Apartment Association spokesperson Nicole Upano of the difficult situation landlords face when tenants owe thousands.
The rise in eviction filings is most acute across the Sunbelt, a region that starts in the southernmost parts of California, stretches across the Southwest into Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, moves into the Southeast, and bows up toward Virginia.
Las Vegas is leading the way, with eviction filings rising 28 percent above pre-pandemic norms this May. Phoenix and Dallas aren’t too far behind, with double-digit growth.
According to CoreLogic data, single-family home rents have risen nearly 32 percent since October 2019. Apartment List data shows just as big a jump, with asking rents for apartments increasing by 21 percent in 2021 alone. On a national level, the Zillow Observed Rent Index noted the asking rent for houses and apartments rose 30 percent from 2020 to 2023.
Despite the rise in rent and eviction filings, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo has vetoed several state bills to improve rental assistance programs and pause eviction proceedings for tenants applying for emergency help.
“It was time to force people to remove the excuse of, ‘Hey, government’s taking care of me and so I’m not going to make an effort,’” Lombardo told several Nevada news outlets.
Email Marian McPherson
