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By Anita Snow<\/div><\/div>\n

Many renters didn\u2019t take eviction seriously in the shadow of eviction-ban extensions. Some experts now expect a deluge, while others think it will be more of a trickle.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

PHOENIX (AP) \u2013 Tenant advocates and court officials were gearing up Friday for what some fear will be a wave of evictions and others predict will be just a growing trickle after a U.S. Supreme Court action allowing lockouts to resume.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The high court\u2019s conservative majority late Thursday blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a temporary ban placed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The action ends protections for about 3.5 million people in the United States who say they faced eviction in the next two months, according to U.S. Census Bureau data from early August.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are incredibly disappointed in the Supreme Court ruling and ask Congress and Governor (Doug) Ducey to take action to prevent what will likely be tragic outcomes for thousands of Arizona families,\u201d said Cynthia Zwick, executive director of the nonprofit organization Wildfire that is helping distribute government rental assistance in Arizona.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLives are literally at risk as the pandemic continues to surge and families lose their homes, especially during this time of extreme heat,\u201d she said, referring to Phoenix\u2019s triple-digit temperatures. Wildfire is encouraging tenants to keep applying for rental aid and \u201cwork with their landlords to develop plans for making payments until the assistance is available,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ron Book, chairman of the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, worries about the thousands of older people who potentially could be affected by about 9,000 pending eviction cases in the county.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Book said he\u2019s been trying to find people at risk new places to live, but many haven\u2019t taken the situation seriously because the moratorium has been extended numerous times.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But some local officials around the U.S. say the court\u2019s action is unlikely to set off the flood of evictions some advocates predict.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Scott Davis, spokesman for the Maricopa County Justice Courts that handle the bulk of Arizona\u2019s evictions, said he does not expect anything dramatic overnight. He said how things play out will depend on how landlords and their attorneys decide to handle cases.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that eviction case filings over the last 17 months are down about 50% from pre-pandemic,\u201d Davis said. \u201cSome believe there will be a large flood of case activity; others believe it will be just a light sprinkle, which builds gradually over time. Again \u2013 it\u2019s up to landlords.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Davis emphasized no one can be evicted immediately without due process, and the cases could take weeks to be carried out in the courts.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin said Friday that landlords rarely evict anyone who is only a few hundred dollars behind on rent. It said the average eviction judgment for unpaid rent in Wisconsin is more than $2,600.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cContrary to dire predictions by tenant advocates, there will NOT be a \u2018tsunami\u2019 of eviction filings in Wisconsin or in most parts of the country,\u201d the landlord trade association said. \u201cThere will NOT be 11 million people suddenly made homeless.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The court\u2019s action does not affect the temporary bans on evictions placed by a handful of states, including California.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Treasury Department and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge on Friday sent a letter to all governors, mayors and county officials, urging them to implement their own eviction bans, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSeven states have taken the steps. More states can take the steps,\u201d Psaki said. She noted that quicker disbursement of rental assistance money could also help stave off evictions.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In Detroit, Ted Phillips, executive director of the United Community Housing Coalition, said the court\u2019s action could prompt more eviction cases.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe suspect \u2026, there\u2019s probably a large number of cases where landlords never bothered applying for an order of eviction because, well, why bother if there\u2019s a moratorium,\u201d Phillips said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The court\u2019s move wasn\u2019t a huge surprise. The justices had allowed an earlier pause on lockouts to continue through July, but they hinted in late June they would take this path if asked again to intervene. The moratorium had been scheduled to expire Oct. 3.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The court said in an unsigned opinion that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which reimposed the moratorium Aug. 3, lacked the authority to do so under federal law without explicit congressional authorization. The three liberal justices dissented.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Congress is on recess for a few weeks and is unlikely take immediate action on legislation. But key progressive lawmakers Friday urged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, both Democrats, to consider passing legislation to extend the moratorium during the pandemic.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One option would be to include an evictions measure in the upcoming budget infrastructure packages that Congress will consider when lawmakers return in September.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe impending eviction crisis is a matter of public health and safety that demands an urgent legislative solution to prevent further harm and needless loss of human life,\u201d read the letter from Reps. Ayanna Pressley, D-Massachusetts, Cori Bush, D-Missouri, Jimmy Gomez, D-California, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York. It was signed by 60 lawmakers.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Pelosi said Friday the House \u201cis assessing possible legislative remedies.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Congress has approved more than $46.5 billion in rental assistance, but so far state and local governments have distributed 11% of that money, just over $5 billion, the Treasury Department said Wednesday.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In Kansas, the state\u2019s Housing Resources Corporation is pushing to process hundreds of rental relief applications after hiring and training more than 100 new employees to help. Still, most assistance money hasn\u2019t been distributed.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Landlord organizations blamed the slow rollout on requirements imposed by Congress that many applicants find cumbersome.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Courtney Gilstrap LeVinus, president and CEO of the Arizona Multihousing Association, said many mom-and-pop rental owners are teetering on bankruptcy, with about $500 million in rent unpaid statewide.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDespite such intense financial pressure, Arizona property owners have worked with residents to keep them in their homes, to keep them safe from the pandemic, and to help them qualify for eviction relief that has been slow to arrive for a year and a half,\u201d LeVinus said. \u201cWe have strongly encouraged our members to keep working with residents to avoid evictions in every possible instance.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Associated Press writers Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin; John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; Anna Nichols in Lansing, Michigan; David Fischer in Miami and Lisa Mascaro in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

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\nAuthor: kerrys<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"