Eviction Filings Returning to Concerning Pre-Pandemic Rate
Jessilyn Averill
Right before all of us were upended by a global pandemic, many in our county were already experiencing a shift into an unknown reality – being evicted from their homes. In January 2020 the number of new eviction filings in Michigan was at 17,761. Then COVID-19 happened. By April, one month following the governor’s executive order temporarily suspending evictions, new filings were down to 545. That order was scheduled to last only until April 17, 2020, but COVID was still raging by then. In May, filings dropped again; down to 302. Staying safe from the pandemic for ourselves and others meant staying housed.
But actually, stable housing is safe for ourselves and others for all the other times we are not affected by a pandemic. In fact, those who have experienced or are facing an eviction, and the housing justice advocates working alongside them, stress the cruciality of secure housing for the safe physical wellbeing and mental health of an individual or family.
Some nonpayment cases are hard to argue for in court. It is also true that not all filings result in an eviction – agreements are made in and out of court that support someone staying housed. For example, a reasonable accommodation can be granted under the Fair Housing Act to allow a tenant with a disability to pay rent at the time their disability check is received, rather than the first of the month, because they are unable to work and it is their only income. Another example is the court will instruct landlords to take a commitment letter from organizations who are working with a tenant to reconcile their balances but need additional time to pay.
Yet more times than not a landlord has a lawyer in court to plead their case for an eviction while most tenants do not. According to Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan’s Policy Brief, statewide, only 4.8% of tenants were represented by an attorney in eviction cases filed between 2014-2018, compared to 83.2% of landlords. Legal Services of South Central Michigan and Housing Access for Washtenaw County (HAWC) support tenants during their filing hearings, but housing justice advocates want to see more robust representation and funding as part of a tenant’s Right to Counsel (RTC), or free legal defense for renters facing eviction, as part of the eviction hearing process. In 2019, United Community Housing Coalition in Detroit created a video on the tenant benefits of RTC.
The rate of eviction filings in our state are once again on the rise and reaching pre-pandemic levels, as shown in the bar graph below. Many have feared this rise in evictions as early back as when the state’s eviction moratorium ended in 2021 and federal pandemic emergency rental assistance programs closed their application portals in 2022. By the end of last year hundreds of eviction cases were being handled through the courts without the significant amount of alternative funding needed and in place to help someone stay housed.
In January 2020 the number of new eviction filings in Michigan was at 17,761. Then COVID-19 happened. By May 2020, filings dropped down to 302. However, three years later the rate of eviction filings in our state are once again on the rise and reaching pre-pandemic levels.
In 2018 more than 191,500 eviction cases were filed in Michigan — the equivalent of 1 eviction case for every 6 rental units. This statistic could lead us to believe that we are all equally capable of having a neighbor facing eviction, if not ourselves should we be a renter. It is important to keep in mind that eviction filings in the state, and in Washtenaw County, vary greatly by neighborhood and zip code.
Before the pandemic, it was well documented, anecdotally and statistically, how eviction filings and judgments systemically disadvantaged Black tenants in our county. Between 2012-2016 Black tenants were 17% of the share of renters, but 41% of defendants in eviction filings and 39% of eviction judgments. This data unequivocally proved that increasing eviction filings is not simply about recovering long delayed revenue for a business but is the doings of systemic racism excused as private market forces.
Between 2012-2016 Black tenants in Washtenaw County were 17% of the share of renters, but 41% of defendants in eviction filings and 39% of eviction judgments. This data was compiled by the Eviction Lab at Princeton University, a project to help neighbors and policymakers understand the eviction crisis.
As shared in our September 2022 newsletter, the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s Out of Reach report shows Washtenaw County averages above state averages for rental affordability. The good news is there are source of income (SOI) protections for housing choice vouchers (formerly referred to as Section 8) in the cities of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti which can help individuals and families afford rent here. The bad news is housing options outside of SOI-protected municipalities becomes especially difficult when property owners opt out of accepting vouchers, pricing out individuals and families using this income from where they want to live.
Federal dollars are used most often to fund housing choice vouchers, which must be used in the private housing market. But if there is no statewide protection of this rental income, then there really is no choice that comes with this voucher. Market forces continue to shift its affordability at the expense of community stability and perpetuates the illusion that maintaining access through these shifts is an individual’s responsibility. In other words, the market says, “Just don’t get evicted.”
Now is the time to remind local, state, and federal elected officials what is at stake if we return to pre-pandemic eviction rates. We must have robust statewide eviction prevention resources that include source of income protections, tenant protections like Right to Counsel, Just Cause, and eviction expungement/sealing, as well as rent stabilization and funds to help people pay their rent. And, as always, we must keep investing in Housing First efforts that include securing stable funding for human services and more permanent supportive housing options.
Unfamiliar with the eviction process in Washtenaw County? We recommend this 5-minute video by Michigan Law that breaks it down.