An Eviction Crisis Could Be Coming

The pandemic economy is squeezing renters as well as low-income homeowners, setting the stage for what many experts fear will be a surge of evictions.

Some in the Cleveland suburbs have already started hearing regular evictions again, according to the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland. Cleveland Housing Court, which handles by far the largest number of eviction cases locally, is due to start new hearings on June 15.

All such courts face not just an evictions backlog, but also the likelihood that eviction caseloads will accelerate, as renters and mortgagees both fall behind in their payments because of lost jobs and income.

Housing courts need to be ready with innovative efforts to help landlords and mortgage companies find a middle ground, to keep families in their homes if possible.

Provisions of the congressional CARES Act do protect some renters from eviction. However, those provisions only benefit a fraction of renters.

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