Eviction in the United States

Number in Poverty and Poverty Rate: 1959 to 2015. United States.

Most evictions in the United States occur because the tenant cannot or will not pay rent. Landlords can also expel tenants for breaking the law, damaging property, sub-leasing, or causing a disturbance. In most American municipalities, tenants who haven't violated their lease can be expelled, in what is known as "no-fault evictions."[2]

Most renting families under the poverty line spend more than 50% of their income on rent, with one in four such families spending over 70% of their income on rent and utilities. About one in four low-income renters receives housing assistance.[2] Eviction rates are higher in communities with multiple aggravating factors, including high levels of poverty. These include local laws that give advantage to landowners and a lack of available affordable housing that would increase market pressures to keep rents low.[1]

When housing pressures are extreme, even middle-class and working class renters are evicted by landlords eager to capitalize on the rising market rates, such as in San Francisco during the various tech booms. In such circumstances, landlords may seize upon minor violations that were previously tolerated, such as keeping a small pet or storing a bicycle in the hallway, to evict renters. The situation in California is aggravated by the Ellis Act, which allows landlords to evict tenants and immediately sell the vacant apartments as condominiums.[3]

Evictions disproportionately affect low-income women, in particular women of color.[2] Approximately one in five African-American women renters report being evicted as some point in their life, while the equivalent rate for white women renters is one in 15.[4] Victims of domestic violence and families with children are also at high risk of eviction.[2] Renters who appear in eviction court are three times more likely to actually be evicted if they live with children.[4] Almost 15% of US children experience an eviction by the age of 15.[5]

Protesters linking arms to prevent San Francisco Sheriffs' deputies from evicting elderly tenants. August 4, 1977

Eviction is a cause of poverty, as well as a result of it. The loss of home often results in the loss of community connections, as well as children being forced into a new school. Possessions are routinely lost, as they are placed outside on the sidewalk or placed in storage that can only be accessed by paying a fee. A legal eviction typically goes on the permanent record of the boarder, resulting in automatic rejection by other landlords or housing authorities.[2] Experiencing eviction disqualifies an individual from federal housing subsidies.[5]

Persons who are evicted lose their jobs at higher rates, either because of the new stress or because the job is no longer easily accessible in a new residence. Mental health often suffers, with one study finding that evicted mothers reported higher rates of depression two years after being expelled.[2]

There is no government reporting system on eviction, so variance by location and time were, at best, little understood and, at worst, invisible. This began to change with the implementation of Princeton University's Eviction Lab which published the results of an analysis of 900,000 eviction notices that occurred in 2016.[1]

Steel screen installed over windows as an evicted tenant's property is removed. Minneapolis, MN

A house in Minneapolis is boarded up in 2009 after the tenant was evicted

Striking workers in Pittsburgh being evicted, 1909

Eviction laws in the United States vary by jurisdiction, and are based on state statute and common law.[7] Additionally, landlord-tenant law at the state level is often based on the Model Residential Landlord-Tenant code or the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, known as URLTA.[8]

During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, mass job loss and unemployment led to fears of mass evictions as tenants became unable to pay rent. An analysis by the Aspen Institute indicated between 19 and 23 million, or 20 percent of renters, are at risk for eviction by the end of September, 2020;[9] a separate July 2020 analysis projects 16 million households unable to pay rent and at risk of eviction, with a potential 11 million eviction filings in the next four months.[10]

In response, the federal CARES Act included an eviction moratorium for federally-backed rental properties; however, this expired on July 24,[11] and no enforcement mechanism was provided.[12] States and cities also passed a variety of temporary eviction moratoriums.[13][14][15] As these moratoriums expire over the course of 2020, there were fears of a massive wave of evictions; by mid-June 2020, over 40% of states offered renters no protections.[16]

Nevertheless, on September 4, 2020, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an Agency Order known as Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions To Prevent the Further Spread of COVID-19.[17] This agency order will be effective from September 4 to December 31 of 2020, during which time, “a landlord, owner of a residential property, or another person with a legal right to pursue eviction or possessory action, shall not evict any covered person from any residential property in any jurisdiction to  which the order applies.” [17]

Under The Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions To Prevent the Further Spread of COVID-19, a covered person is a tenant that has given their landlord the legal right to evict them, but has declared, under penalty of perjury, that: available housing assistance has been pursued; homeless status is likely after the eviction; the tenant is making their best efforts to pay at least part of the rent, there was a substantial household income loss that prevents the tenant from paying rent; and the tenant will not earn more than $99,000 USD in annual income for the taxable year of 2020, or will not be required to report incomes in 2019, or, under the CARES Act received an Economic Impact Payment.[18]

However, that does not mean that the individual obligations to comply with the agreements on the tenancy contract are relieved. The order does not eliminate individual obligations to make housing payments, pay the rent, or add interest, if applicable.[19] Moreover, tenants can still be evicted for other reasons apart from not complying with the timely payment. For instance, evictions due to criminal activity, violation of building codes, threat other residents safety are allowed under the order.[19]

In addition, the agency order will not apply in areas that already have an eviction moratorium. For example, The California Governor stated that the Temporary Halt will not apply in the state because they have established a stronger protection.[20] Furthermore, the order allows states to enact other actions aimed to provide even further assistance to tenants, which implies that tenants not covered by the federal order, could be covered by some state protection. [21]

In this way, there are states and cities that issued their own eviction moratoriums.[22] For instance, the state of Massachusetts issued the "Bill providing temporary protections for renters and home owners during the COVID-19 emergency". However, the moratorium waived on October 17 of 2020. Hence, the CDC order will take effect.[23]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eviction in the United States.

• Home-ownership in the United States
• Housing insecurity in the United States
• Homelessness in the United States
• Poverty in the United States
• Legal Aid in the United States
• Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act

• Eviction Lab from Matthew Desmond at Princeton University—a nationwide database of evictions