: Corporate landlords have started more than 40,000 evictions during the CDC moratorium, but some say they’re trying to help tenants

The total figure as of early February was up from October, when the Private Equity Stakeholder Project recorded roughly 9,500 eviction filings. The report is based on court filings in six states: Arizona, Texas, Florida, Nevada, Tennessee and Georgia.

Since the pandemic began, there have been roughly 246,000 evictions in the five states and 27 cities tracked by the Eviction Lab, a separate organization that tracks evictions nationwide. Before the CDC’s moratorium, the CARES Act included a moratorium on evictions for certain federally-backed properties. Otherwise, tenants had to rely on a web of state and municipal moratoriums for protection.

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The Biden administration recently extended the CDC’s current moratorium until March 31, and the White House has called on Congress to pass legislation extending it until the end of September.

Some of the landlords identified in the Private Equity Stakeholder Project report have made hundreds of eviction filings while the CDC moratorium has been in place. In particular, there are 12 landlords across the country that have taken legal action to evict tenants more than 400 times each.

The Private Equity Stakeholder Project report is the latest sign that the CDC’s eviction moratorium may not be adequately protecting tenants who are at risk of losing their housing as a result of the financial hardships brought on by the pandemic. Consumer advocates have argued that gaps in the moratorium need to be addressed to better prevent people from being displaced.

Enforcement of the moratorium has been left to state and local authorities, and that hasn’t changed under the Biden administration. Yet, there is ample evidence that these local authorities are not enforcing the mandate as intended.

Landlords say that eviction is a move of ‘last resort‘

MarketWatch contacted the 12 companies that had pursued more than 400 evictions each since the CDC moratorium went into effect for comment. All but three of these companies did not immediately return a request for comment.

Representatives from the three companies that did respond to the request for comment — Mid-America Apartment Communities, Ventron Management and Invitation Homes — argued that the Private Equity Stakeholder Project’s report did not tell the full story.

“Eviction is the absolute last resort for us,” said Erez Hon, chief financial officer at Ventron Management. “We want our residents to stay in their homes and be part of our community.”

Multiple companies cautioned that in many cases where eviction filings were made, the tenant ultimately was not displaced because they were able to work the situation out. To that end, data from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project shows that nearly 800 of the filings were ultimately dismissed or halted.

“We have resolved the vast majority of these notices without any residents losing their housing,” a spokeswoman from Invitation Homes told MarketWatch.

Additionally, the CDC’s moratorium does allow evictions to occur for certain reasons, including in situations where the tenant represents a threat to other residents.

The companies said they were following the rules set out by the moratorium when they made eviction filings. The companies further argued that they have gone to great lengths to help tenants stay in their homes, as many landlords across the country have.

All three companies that responded to MarketWatch’s request stated that they provided tenants facing financial hardship with an array of payment options to reduce the stress they are facing and assisted them in applying for assistance from government agencies and nonprofits.

Mid-America noted it has assisted more than 8,000 of its residents, providing more than $19 million in interest-free rent deferrals, $1.7 million in waived late fees and $1.1 million in waived termination fees. “We have not sought or received direct federal government assistance during the pandemic,” the company said.

In some cases, landlords say they have gone a step further to help renters. Ventron, for instance, provides tenants looking for work with links to local employers who are hiring. The company will also hire residents, when it can, to help them earn money to pay down their balances, Hon said.

“Any filing in courts is made only on residents that refuse to communicate with us and/or do not take any attempt to take advantage of the array of assistance programs,” Hon said.

Evictions pose a health risk to those who are displaced

The CDC opted to pursue the national moratorium on evictions in part because of the threat that millions of Americans losing their homes posed to the country’s public health.

A recent working paper distributed by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that eviction moratoria were effective in achieving this goal. Researchers found that policies that aim to limit evictions reduced the number of COVID-19 cases by 4.4% and mortality rates by 7.4%.

Also read: Landlords are still evicting tenants even though there’s a national ban on evictions — how renters can protect themselves

But people can be displaced from their homes even when an eviction filing doesn’t result in an eviction writ carried out by law enforcement, consumer advocates warn. Physical evictions are actually a small percentage of the number of housing cases where people are displaced, said Eric Dunn, director of litigation at the National Housing Law Project.

“People who are sued for eviction often move out before the case ever comes for a hearing,” Dunn said. “People who show up for an initial court hearing often move out before an eviction writ is entered against them. And people who have eviction writs entered against them frequently move out before the sheriff comes to remove them.”

Moreover, consumer advocates warn that an eviction filing can have a lasting impact even if the household ultimately is allowed to remain where they’re living. Because these are public court filings, the details regarding the eviction case can come up in background checks down the road, making it potentially harder for these renters to secure housing or employment in the future.

“Any landlord routinely initiating eviction proceedings against tenants right now is a bad landlord with bad values,” Dunn argued.