User:Sam7688/Eviction in the United States

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Eviction in the United States refers to the pattern of tenant removal by landlords in the United States. In an eviction process, landlords forcibly remove tenants from their place of residence and reclaim the property. Landlords may decide to evict tenants who have failed to pay rent, violated lease terms, or possess an expired lease. Landlords may also choose not to renew a tenant's lease, however, this does not constitute an eviction. In the United States, eviction procedures, landlord rights, and tenant protections vary by state and locality. Historically, the United States has seen changes in domestic eviction rates during periods of major socio-political and economic change, including the Great Depression, the 2008 Recession, and the Covid-19 pandemic. Across the United States, high eviction rates are driven by affordable housing shortages and rising housing costs. Additionally, certain demographics face higher filing and actual eviction rates. In the United States, Black, Hispanic, and female renters are evicted at disproportionate rates

Eviction in the United States is not well understood due to poorly documented eviction records and incomplete research on the topic. Landlord-initiated expulsion of tenants is not officially tracked or monitored by the Federal government and has not been subject to comprehensive analysis. In 2016, sociologist Matthew Desmond published Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City which brought wide-scale attention to the United States’ eviction crisis. In his book, Desmond researches eviction patterns in improvised Milwaukee neighborhoods, emphasizing the economic and social costs of the eviction process. In 2017, Desmond established the Eviction Lab: an interactive website that publicizes data on eviction trends across the United States.

Eviction Process

Reasons For Eviction

Landlords can evict tenants for failing to pay rent, violating lease agreements, or having an expired lease. Landlords can also expel tenants for breaking the law, damaging property, sub-leasing, or causing a disturbance. Other legitimate reasons for eviction include property damage or improper property use, such as illegal subletting or cannabis cultivation. However, the majority of evictions are initiated for nonpayment of rent. 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.

Landlords may also file for evictions in situations where the tenant is not culpable. In most American municipalities, tenants who haven't violated their lease can be expelled, in what is known as "no-fault evictions." Additionally, landlords have no legal obligation to renew a tenants lease and may choose not to for any reason.

Tenant Protections

While landlords may evict tenants for a various reasons, there are legal protections that protect tenants and prohibit unfair evictions. Foremost, landlords may only carry out evictions that follow statue. For example, tenants have the right to report housing code violations without the risk of retaliatory evictions. This protection extends to lease renewals--in Edwards v. Habib, the court established that landlords cannot refuse to renew a tenants lease for reporting a code violation. Additionally, landlords can't evict tenants who have filed a fair housing complaint or discrimination lawsuit against them. In some states, landlords are prohibited for issuing an eviction for any form of landlord report.

Certain demographic groups are granted further protections to protect against unjust evictions. For example, federal housing assistance recipients cannot be evicted through "no-fault" evictions. Tenants using federal housing expenditures--such as LIHTC, section 8 vouchers, or public housing can still be evicted, but these eviction must be initiated for lease violations or rent nonpayment.

Prior to an eviction, landlords must issue an eviction notice, often referred to as a Notice to Quit. In this notice, landlords must provide sufficient information detailing the reason for eviction and options available for the tenant. Landlords are prohibited from threatening, harming, harassing, or intimidating evictees, even if they are noncompliant. Following an eviction, landlords may not change tenants locks, cut off ultities, etc.

Eviction Law

A fair eviction process is regulated through federal law, state law, local law, common law, and court procedures. There are limited federal laws dedicated specifically to domestic eviction regulation. However, there are federal protections in place that protect against unlawful housing practices. For example, the federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability or familial status. Additionally, the federal government passed the CARE Act during the Covid-19 pandemic, which included a temporary eviction moratorium for eligible renters. While eviction laws vary by region, most state and local legislation mirror the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA) or the Model Residential Landlord-Tenant Code. Eviction procedures are also regulated by common law--law based on legal precedents, rather than formal statues. In essence, when no written law applies to an eviction case, past court decisions can guide judge rulings. In some cases, lease terms can override common law.Additionally, court procedures---which vary by municipality--can influence an eviction case. For instance, the amount of time it takes a landlord to carry out an eviction is often dependent on a court's docket system.

Causes

Outside of the legal process, high eviction rates are considered to be a part of a nation-wide affordable housing crisis. Current estimates suggest that millions of tenants are evictions each year.

Unexpected financial costs—such as job loss, drop in income, or medical bills—can increase risk of eviction. This is especially true for poor tenants, who may not have the financial safety net to absorb these unexpected costs. Additionally, research indicates that a lack of financial skills is associated with likelihood of eviction. Similarly, individuals who fail to seek out or use housing-related subzidies are at increased risk of future eviction.

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. 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.

In addition to individual risk factors, neighborhoods composition is highly correlated with eviction patterns. Risk of eviction is significantly higher in neighborhoods with high degrees of racial or economic segregation. Research on eviction in Southern California indicates that neighborhoods with higher compositions of Black individuals experienced greater eviction rates. For example, in Seattle, Washington, not only do low-income neighborhoods face higher eviction rates, but neighborhoods which border low-income areas also face higher eviction rates. Disadvantaged neighborhoods with high eviction rates deal with constant instability, which disincentivizes community investment and involvement.

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.

Housing Affordability

High rents/income

Across the United States, there is a shortage of housing units for low-income renters and surplus of housing units for high-income renters. Research indicates that neighborhoods with higher rents also have higher eviction rates. Regardless of rent rate, rent burden is correlated with eviction filing rates.

Disproportionately impacted evictees[edit]

Low-income renters

The risk of eviction is greater for low-income individuals, who are also disproportionately impacted by the consequences of eviction. Foremost, low income renters lack the financial means to navigate the eviction process. For instance, one study found that housing was the second most common legal issue for low-income households in Illinois, but only 16.4% of households received any any form of legal representation for their legal problems. Lack of financial resources can be a barrier to accessing legal representation, which puts low-income renters at a disadvantage in court. This issue is especially prevalent in eviction cases, since eviction law is complex and difficult to interpret. This issue is particularly prevalent in eviction cases—one study found that only 5% of tenants had legal representation, compared to over 50% of landlords. Without legal support, defendants may not be able to build or articulate a sound defense that holds up in a court. In Chicago, eviction-related court hearings are almost two minutes shorter when the landlord has a legal defense and the tenant does not.

Black renters

Black tenants face significantly higher filing and eviction rates than their white counterparts. In another study which took place in Chicago, one fourteenth of black tenants are evicted annually. This 7.1% eviction rate contrasts significantly with Chicago's average eviction rate of 3.9%. Matthew Desmond, the author of this study, goes on to compare the eviction of black women to the incarceration of black men. In comparison to white women, black women are 5 times more likely to be evicted. Evictions rates are also higher in black neighborhoods. In Richmond, when the proportion of a neighborhood black population increased by 10%, the neighborhood's had 1.2% higher eviction rates.

Hispanic renters

Research indicates that Hispanic renters face discrimination in housing and the eviction process. In a study published in the Harvard Civil Rights–Civil Liberties Law Review, researchers investigated the relationship between Hispanic origin and eviction in Milwaukee. These researchers discovered a strong correlation between the racial composition Hispanic residents are living in and their likelihood of eviction. In neighborhoods with a population that is two-thirds white, approximately 80% of landlords will be white. Additionally, eviction rates are disproportionately higher for Hispanic tenants with non-Hispanic landlords. In these same neighborhoods, which experience an eviction rate of 25%, Hispanic residents experience eviction rates upwards of 35%. Due to the elimination of missed rental payments and income level through controls, this study suggests discrimination within the housing market in predominantly white neighborhoods.

Families with children[edit]

Renters with children are at increased risk of eviction. According to Matthew Desmond, renters with children have an eviction rate three times higher than the average. Since women take on a higher proportion of child-bearing tasks, This is because renters believe that children have the potential to be problematic. By the age of 15, approximately 15% of children experience eviction. This has a negative impact on the behavioral development, education, and health of children. In addition, neighborhoods with more children will also have higher rates of evictions. Neighborhood eviction patterns are more strongly correlated with a tenant's child status than their race, gender, or class.

Women[edit]

Based on studies done in major United States cities, women are more likely to face eviction than men. Between 2003 and 2007, 60.6% of those evicted in Milwaukee were women, and in Chicago, 62% of people appearing in eviction court were female. This is likely because women are more likely to be impoverished in America, and therefore have less access to legal resources.  Additionally, based on a study by Richard Tessler, Robert Rosenheck, and Gail Gamache, when homeless men and women were asked why they were homeless, women reported eviction nearly twice as much as men.

Eviction disproportionately impacts women of color. Black and Hispanic women face the highest eviction rates and are the most represented demographic in eviction hearings. In Baltimore, 79% of tenants in eviction cases were black women, yet black women only make up 34% of Baltimore's population.

Pregnancy during eviction is also related to negative health outcomes for women and their offspring. Pregnant women who experienced evictions have significantly lower infant birth weights and prematurity compared to non-pregnant women.

Consequences

Socioeconomic Instability and Poverty

Eviction is associated with many negative socioeconomic outcomes, including an increased risk of homelessness, job loss, housing instability, and poor health. A record of eviction bars renters from credit and decent housing. Evictees often spend months searching for housing. Consequently, individuals are often forced to accept lower quality housing and move to neighborhoods with higher crime and poverty rates. Housing instability can also increase chances of job loss and job instability, which exacerbates housing instability. 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.

Eviction is a cause of poverty, as well as a result of it. In some cases, securing housing becomes impossible and eviction leads to homelessness--one in two homeless adults credits eviction or rent affordability as the cause of their homelessness. It is estimated that 47% of homeless families in New York City homeless shelters have histories of eviction.

Housing Insecurity

Having a record of eviction makes it extremely difficult to secure decent housing. A legal eviction will nearly always go on an evictee's permanent record, barring them from future housing opportunities. When an eviction is filed in the court system, this record becomes available to landlords. Landlords can look up the records of prospective renters through a tenant screening report.Through this screening, landlords can find information about prospective tenants criminal background, credit scores, and eviction history. If an individual has any history of an eviction, this will show up on their record---even if the case was dismissed and the tenant was found not guilty. Most landlords will not accept tenants with any form of an eviction record. Tenants with a record of eviction can also be denied from subsidized housing. This exclusion further exacerbates housing instability for minority groups who are most reliant on subsidized housing---42% of HUD renters are black, 19% are Hispanic, and 36% have children.

Mental Health

Multiple studies done on mental health and housing have shown a correlation between housing insecurity and mental health issues. The threat of eviction can have an impact on stress levels, anxiety, and depression. Research has found that the stress of receiving an eviction notice, even if the eviction is not carried out, is associated with future housing insecurity. The eviction process is tied to long-term psychological issues for tenants and their children. The Michigan Recession and Recovery Study looked at a group of adults with different housing insecurities, one of which was having been evicted in the past 12 months. The study found that 13.9% of these people suffered from major or minor depression, and that 33.8% experienced an anxiety attack in the last 4 weeks. Additionally, across the 27 states that participate in the National Violent Death Reporting system, in 2015, 3.8% of those who committed suicide with known circumstances had recently experienced eviction.

**According to Deena Greenberg, Carl Gershenson, and Matthew Desmond, "between 2004 and 2014, more than 300,000 housing discrimination complaints were filed."