Evictions Surge In U.S. South

Tenant evictions look stuck at elevated levels in several corners of the U.S., showing little sign of returning to what was typical before the pandemic.

Eviction filings over the past year in a half-dozen cities and surrounding metropolitan areas are up 35% or more compared with pre-2020 norms, according to the Eviction Lab, a research unit at Princeton University.

This includes Las Vegas, Houston, and in Phoenix, where landlords filed more than 8,000 eviction notices in January.

That was the most ever in a single month for the county that includes the Arizona capital. Phoenix eviction-court hearings often run for less than a minute. One judge signed off on an eviction after the tenant admitted to missing two rent payments.“How long until I have to move out?” the tenant asked during a publicly available broadcast of the hearing this month.

“It could be Tuesday,” the judge responded, suggesting she should try to work out a deal with her landlord before then.

Overall, eviction notices were up 15% or more compared with the period before the pandemic for 10 of the 33 cities tracked by the Eviction Lab, which looked at filings over the past 12 months.