Eviction in the United States is the pattern of tenant removal by landlords in the United States. Landlords in the United States can evict tenants from a property for failure to pay rent, violation of the lease, or the decision of the landlord not to renew the lease. Eviction procedures, landlord rights, and tenant protections vary by state and locality."Eviction". 2022. LII / Legal Information Institute. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/eviction .
Historically, the United States has seen changes in eviction rates during periods of economic turmoil—including the Great Depression, the Great Recession, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Rising housing costs and shortages of affordable housing contribute to increased eviction rates. Across the United States, low-income and disadvantaged neighborhoods have disproportionately higher eviction rates. Women, Black and Hispanic people, people with children, and low-income people are at a greater risk of eviction. In most jurisdictions, eviction filings remain on renters' public records. This can make it more difficult for evictees to access housing, since most landlords will not rent to a tenant with a history of eviction. Eviction and housing instability are linked with homelessness, poverty, and poor mental and physical health.
Eviction in the United States is not fully understood due to poorly kept records and limited research on the topic. The federal government does not officially track or monitor evictions, nor has it subjected eviction to a 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.Desmond, Matthew. Evicted: Poverty and profit in the American city. Crown, 2016. Desmond documented eviction patterns in impoverished Milwaukee neighborhoods, emphasizing the racial and gender disparities in eviction rates and the subsequent social cost on evictees. In 2017, Desmond and other researchers established a website known as The Eviction Lab to publish eviction data from various jurisdictions in the United States.
History
19th century
The Trail of Tears See main article: Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears refers to the mass eviction of around 100,000 American Indians from their homelands, which stretched across Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama. The majority of evictions occurred after the passage of the United States Indian Removal Act of 1830.
In 1832, the Supreme Court ruled on the case Worcester v. Georgia, stipulating that the evacuation of the American Indian tribes was unconstitutional. However, because the president at the time, Andrew Jackson, did not agree with the ruling, it was not enforced. The evacuation of natives in the southern states continued.
In 1834, the Treaty of New Echota was passed. This required the Cherokee tribe to move to Oklahoma within two years for a compensation of five million dollars. However, when many Cherokees remained in 1838, they were forcibly removed by the military with deaths totaling over 4,000 people.
20th century
The Great Depression See main article: Great Depression in the United States
During the Great Depression, eviction rates increased significantly due to high unemployment rates. In 1933, U.S. unemployment rates reached an all time high of 24.9%.the US.
These evictions led to the Great Rent Strike War of 1932. During the strike, which started in The Bronx, tenants withheld their rent while demanding decreases in rent and evictions. Tenants who did not pay were evicted, and police officers forced residents out of their apartments. Tenants violently fought police officers, leading to arrests. At first, the strikes were unsuccessful because landlords were legally supported. Eventually, strikes spread across the country and led to decreases in rent and eviction rates.
One result of housing issues that occurred during the Great Depression was the passage of the Housing Act of 1937, often referred to as the Wagner-Steagall Act. This act established public housing in the United States. Within the first four years of its establishment, 170,000 housing units were created.
Japanese American internment during WWII See main article: Internment of Japanese Americans
During World War II, mass evictions of Japanese Americans on the West Coast occurred due to perceived threats of national security after the Pearl Harbor bombings. Evictions began in early 1942 after the inaction of Executive Order 9066 by president Franklin Roosevelt. Within six months, 112,000 people were sent to internment camps. Those who were forced into these internment camps were slowly released after the end of the war in 1945. The last internment camp did not close until nine months after the end of the war. In 1948, Congress passed a law that would reimburse Japanese Americans for their material losses; however, only ten cents of every dollar was repaid. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill that paid each survivor of internment camps $20,000.
21st century
Great Recession
See main article: Great Recession
During the recession of 2008, eviction rates rose significantly due to property foreclosures. In the early months of the recession, renters were evicted with little notice due to landlords foreclosing on properties. However, in May 2009, the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act was passed. This law required "new owners to provide at least 90 days notice to vacate and to honor the terms of any existing leases."Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. "Rental Market Stresses: Impacts of the Great Recession on Affordability and Multifamily Lending." What Works Collaborative, July 2011.
COVID-19 pandemic
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, were at risk for eviction by the end of September, 2020; a separate July 2021 United States Census Bureau survey projects 7 million households unable to pay rent and at risk of eviction, with a potential 3 million eviction filings in the next two months.
In response, the federal CARES Act included an eviction moratorium for federally backed rental properties; however, this expired on July 24, 2020, and no enforcement mechanism was provided. States and cities also passed a variety of temporary eviction moratoriums. As these moratoriums expired 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.
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. This agency order will be effective from September 4 to December 31, 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."
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. This eviction moratorium was allowed to expire on July 31, 2021.
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. 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, and threats to other residents' safety are allowed under the order.
In addition, the agency order will not apply in areas that already have an eviction moratorium. For example, the Governor of California stated that the Temporary Halt will not apply in the state because they have established a stronger protection. 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.
In this way, there are states and cities that issued their own eviction moratoriums. 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, 2020. Hence, the CDC order will take effect.
On August 3, 2021, the CDC issued a new eviction moratorium in areas with substantial and high transmission of COVID-19. On August 26, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the federal eviction moratorium put in place by U.S. President Joe Biden and ruled that the CDC had exceeded its authority by enforcing it.
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, engaging in violence or causing a disturbance. Other legitimate reasons for eviction include improper property use, such as illegal subletting or cannabis cultivation. However, most renters are evicted for non-payment of rent. In 2018, a DC eviction report found that 93% of eviction filings in DC were initiated for non-payment of rent.
Landlords may also file for evictions in situations where the tenant is not culpable, known as a "no-fault eviction". In most American municipalities, landlords have the legal right to expel tenants at their discretion, even if the tenant has not broken any lease agreements. For example, landlords can evict tenants if they want to sell or reoccupy their property. Additionally, landlords have no legal obligation to renew a tenant's lease and may choose not to for any reason.
Legal protections
While landlords may evict tenants for various reasons, there are legal protections that protect tenants and prohibit unfair evictions. Foremost, landlords may only carry out evictions that follow federal, state, and local statutes. For example, the Federal Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability."Housing Discrimination under the Fair Housing Act." HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/fair_housing_act_overview . Thus, it is illegal for a landlord to evict a tenant based on any of these characteristics. Additionally, landlords cannot evict tenants who have filed a fair housing complaint or discrimination lawsuit against them. Tenants also 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 tenant's lease for reporting a code violation. In some states, landlords are prohibited from issuing an eviction following any form of a tenant-initiated report.