By Rachel Ranieri

A major question across the country is why eviction rates vary so drastically by state, and concurrently, whether there should be a more uniform eviction displacement rate across the states.[1] There are three primary approaches to the substantive landlord-tenant laws that courts may take.[2] The first is a “protectionist” approach; these states laws are generally pro-tenant.[3] States with a “contradictory” approach have mixed protections for tenants and landlords.[4] Finally, states with a “pro-business” approach have laws that are more favorable to landlords.[5] Virginia takes a primarily “pro-business” approach, with favorable landlord laws.[6] This is because Virginia does not impose rent control policies for landlords, and the law gives landlords flexibility when choosing tenants.[7]

As of February 21, 2021, Virginia was given a State Score of a 0.78/5.00 for renters based on data collection at the Eviction Lab for their Covid-Policy Scorecard.[8]  This does not account for the rise of evictions since the end of the eviction moratorium and rent relief programs. Richmond, Virginia is recognized as an eviction “hot spot,” with eviction filing rates as high as 28.9% and eviction rates as high as 9.6%.[9]  This data further shows the vulnerabilities that tenants in Virginia face and continued to face upon the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. These vulnerabilities may only be increasing as the pandemic relief programs come to a close.

Each state developed a Rent Relief Program during the coronavirus pandemic to help ensure housing stability by giving financial assistance.[10] The Virginia Rental Relief Program received more than $1 billion in emergency federal aid funding. [11] Through the end of June 2022 over 144,000 households in Virginia received aid through the program.[12]

Since the end of the rent relief program and eviction moratorium on June 30, 2022, landlords have mass filed eviction suits across the state of Virginia.[13] This trend has followed across other states as well, with many states’ eviction filing levels returning to pre-pandemic levels–some even exceeding them–even though the job market has stabilized.[14] These eviction filings and judgments for eviction are occurring even though many Rent Relief applications still need to be processed.[15] Additionally, the median price for rent in the United States is only rising: for example, there was a 12.3% increase in median rent from June to July 2021, making the situation for low income tenants even more unstable.[16]

As noted previously, Virginia gives landlords deference when choosing and renewing tenants.[17] There is an additional concern that landlords and rental companies could soon elect to decline to renew leases of tenants who received rent relief funds or further raise rents for those tenants. [18] This is due to the limited housing supply and would only create more instability for low-income tenants; this would likely have a disproportionate racial impact.[19]

The developing question is how lawmakers are going to approach this rental crisis. Some lawmakers have begun enacting housing initiatives.[20] One of these programs, announced by HUD, is the Stability Voucher Program.[21] This program will help give $43 million in housing assistance to the most vulnerable individuals by working with public housing agencies (PHA) that are actively fighting homelessness in their communities.[22] Another one of these initiatives is a redistribution of state stimulus funds to be directed towards homelessness initiatives.[23] The final initiative already being set in place is the Eviction Protection Grant Program.[24] These programs, along with the development of other unique strategies, will be integral to ensuring and protecting the housing security of our country’s most vulnerable population.

 

[1] Nicole Summers, Eviction Court Displacement Rates, 117 NW. L. Rev. 287, 288 (2022).

[2] Id at 296.

[3] Id at 296.

[4] Id 296.

[5] Id at 296.

[6] David Bitton, Virginia Landlord Tenant Laws & Rights for 2022, Doorloop (Aug. 10, 2022),  https://www.doorloop.com/laws/virginia-landlord-tenant-rights.

[7] Id.

[8] COVID-19 Housing Policy Scorecard, Eviction Lab (June 30, 2021),  https://evictionlab.org/covid-policy-scorecard/va/.

[9] Nicole Summers, Eviction Court Displacement Rates, 117 NW. L. Rev. 287, 291 (2022).

[10] Virginia Rent Relief Program, Virginia DHCD (Sept. 15, 2022),  https://www.dhcd.virginia.gov/rmrp.

[11] Chris Suarez, Eviction Cases Rise Throughout Virginia After End of Rent Relief Program and Moratorium, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Aug. 17, 2022), https://richmond.com/news/local/evictions-cases-rise-throughout-virginia-after-end-of-rent-relief-program-and-moratorium/article_d86650fd-c464-58a9-8882-0079e35b6a37.html.

[12] Id.

[13] Id. (Additionally, across Virginia in the past three months there have been around 30,000 eviction filings, https://www.lsctracker.org/virginia/state-wide)

[14] Natalie Campisi, One Year After Eviction Moratorium Ends, Renters Face Affordability Crisis, Forbes (Aug. 26, 2022), https://www.forbes.com/advisor/personal-finance/rental-housing-costs-rise/.

[15] Chris Suarez, Eviction Cases Rise Throughout Virginia After End of Rent Relief Program and Moratorium, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Aug. 17, 2022), https://richmond.com/news/local/evictions-cases-rise-throughout-virginia-after-end-of-rent-relief-program-and-moratorium/article_d86650fd-c464-58a9-8882-0079e35b6a37.html.

(Based on the experience and observations of this post’s author, some judges in Virginia have entered judgments of eviction in favor of landlords, with pending rent relief applications, pre-approved rent-relief applications, or rent relief applications where the landlord did not complete their portion of the application).

[16] Natalie Campisi, One Year After Eviction Moratorium Ends, Renters Face Affordability Crisis, Forbes (Aug. 26, 2022), https://www.forbes.com/advisor/personal-finance/rental-housing-costs-rise/.

[17] See also, Va. Code § 55.1-1315 (2019) (what a landlord can evict a tenant for).

[18] Chris Suarez, Eviction Cases Rise Throughout Virginia After End of Rent Relief Program and Moratorium, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Aug. 17, 2022), https://richmond.com/news/local/evictions-cases-rise-throughout-virginia-after-end-of-rent-relief-program-and-moratorium/article_d86650fd-c464-58a9-8882-0079e35b6a37.html.

[19] Id (Further data could be collected/researched to demonstrate racial disparities of tenants facing evictions across Virginia).

[20] Natalie Campisi, One Year After Eviction Moratorium Ends, Renters Face Affordability Crisis, Forbes (Aug. 26, 2022), https://www.forbes.com/advisor/personal-finance/rental-housing-costs-rise/.

[21] Id.

[22]  Id. (Some of the people at the highest risk of homelessness are those fleeing from domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking).

[23] Id.

[24] Id.