Leaders asked to fight illegal evictions
Advocacy group Mid-south Peace and Justice Center says some low-income tenants don’t get due process
A Memphis-based advocacy group is raising concerns over what they say is an increase in the number of low-income housing tenants illegally evicted from their homes.
County and city officials are weighing in after the Mid-south Peace and Justice Center asked for city and county law enforcement branches to ensure their officers understand when an illegal eviction is happening.
The center’s executive director, Bradley Watkins, said illegal evictions occur when low-income tenants are evicted without due process, meaning their landlord did not file for eviction in general sessions court.
Instead, private companies are enforcing evictions without serving the tenant a Writ of Possession. Tenants have no legal recourse if there’s no court trial, Watkins said.
Complicating the matter are private process servers who dress in “pseudolaw enforcement garb” and present themselves as authority figures when, in fact, they are simply process servers conducting an illegal eviction, Watkins said.
How illegal evictions happen
Watkins said he helped a mother of five who was facing eviction on Saturday from her residence at a low-rent apartment complex in South Memphis.
The mother was given a notice of eviction on June 20, according to Wakins. On June 28, he said the mother was delivered a hand-written eviction notice that said she and her children would be kicked out of the residence the next day.
The landlord ultimately backed off, sparing the family from eviction, but it’s a matter of time before the apartment complex tries again, Watkins said.
The problem is that the apartment complex didn’t serve a legal eviction notice, he said. He also said that, because the apartment complex did not file with general sessions court, the tenant was never served with a formal notice of eviction, or what’s known as a Forcible Entry and Detainer.
But the apartment complex in South Memphis is just one example of many whose tenants routinely turn to the center for help, Watkins said.
In a letter addressed to city and county officials, Watkins asked for increased awareness and communication between the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Memphis, Memphis Police Department and the Shelby County district attorney’s office.
Watkins asked for more evictions to be performed by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, where deputies are familiar with the due process required in order for an eviction to be legally carried out. He also asked for MPD officers to be trained to know the difference between a legal and illegal eviction.
Officials respond to advocates
On Tuesday, Weirich’s office thanked Watkins for bringing the matter to their attention.
“Our office is ready to help in any way we can,” Weirich said, adding that she initiated communication with police precincts and the assistant district attorneys stationed at precincts about the problem.
One of Watkins’ suggestions, at no cost to the city or county, was to inform officers at their roll call before a shift starts of the distinction between a legal eviction and one that occurs without due process.
A spokesperson for the City of Memphis said they were aware of Watkins’ letter, and are working with MPD to look into the matter.
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office also weighed in and said its deputies go to “great lengths to follow all applicable laws when it comes to the eviction process,” but also said that no state law forces landlords suing for eviction to go through the sheriff’s office.
Data compiled and analyzed by Princeton University’s Eviction Lab project shows ranks Memphis has an eviction rate of 4.89% and ranks 41st in the country for evictions.
For every 100 households in Memphis, 15.63% of those households received an eviction notice, according to Eviction Lab data.
The data does not include evictions that occur off the books.