Eviction filings jump 42% in state
Predicted surge comes as pandemic protections end
Eviction filings jumped 42% statewide over 2019 levels — and slightly more in Milwaukee County — in the first two weeks of June, a review of online court records show.
The increase follows the May 27 expiration of Gov. Tony Evers’ two-month ban on evictions.
Evers imposed the ban in March because of the devastating economic impact and job losses resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am nervous,” said Raphael Ramos, director of the Eviction Defense Project, adding that he expected the number of evictions to continue to climb. “Evictions destroy people’s lives ... as well as the community.”
There were 1,351 eviction suits filed in Wisconsin courts from June 1 through Friday compared with 952 during the first two weeks of June 2019, an increase of 42%, according to online court records.
In Milwaukee County, 566 suits were filed in the first two weeks of June compared with 394 during the same period last year, an increase of 44%.
Housing officials fear the numbers could grow, especially after July 25, when a federal ban on some evictions expires. Among those protected by the federal ban are people living in Section 8 housing and in properties that have federally insured mortgages.
Some landlords filed eviction suits as soon as the moratorium ended — and about 50 statewide jumped the gun and filed the day before it expired. Most landlords had to wait at least five days before they could file an eviction suit. State law requires them to give a five-day notice to pay up before filing the eviction action.
Tenant advocates and courthouse officials were expecting to see a rash of eviction actions.
Heiner Giese, attorney for the Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin, said the increase was modest considering landlords were not able to evict anybody for two months.
“It’s not a massive wave,” Giese said. “It’s not a tsunami.”
“Everybody has been predicting a surge,” said Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Pedro Colon, who hears eviction and other small claims suits.
Colon has been preparing for the increase in filings, including planning to have an additional court commissioner and judge assigned to hear cases if necessary.
The court commissioner frequently conducts the initial hearings in which landlords and tenants sometimes reach stipulated agreements that include payment plans for the tenants.
Community Advocates, a nonprofit that works with low-income individuals, has brought in “six new staff to be able to meet the demand,” said Deb Heffner, the group’s housing strategy director.
Heffner said her section has been getting about 200 calls a day since the moratorium ended, a 10-fold increase over its pre-moratorium average. The agency has posted a link to apply for rent assistance on its website.
Landlords and tenant advocates agree the jump in eviction filings likely would have been higher if not for new programs that provide financial assistance to tenants unable to pay rent as a result of economic woes brought on by the pandemic.
Shortly before the eviction ban expired, Evers announced a $25 million rent assistance program. Milwaukee County officials last week said they would use $7 million from their federal CARES Act money for eviction prevention.
The Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin this week urged its landlord members not to rush to eviction court, especially if it appeared a tenant may be in line to receive money that would help cover rent payments.
“There’s not a huge economic advantage to evicting somebody who is going to receive unemployment insurance and will be back on track,” said Tim Ballering, a Milwaukee landlord and association treasurer.
Heffner said more landlords appear to be getting the message that it’s better to work with tenants than to evict them.
“It seems like a lot of landlords are reaching out and trying to work with us,” she said.
Ramos, of the Eviction Project, agreed, saying few people who are evicted pay their back rent.
“The majority of people being evicted are in poverty,” Ramos said. “Eviction is not an ideal tool to recover money.”