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North Carolina PHOTO VIA SHUTTERSTOCK
An Imminent Crisis The eviction moratorium was extended through September, but experts say, for the most part, it’s just kicking the can down the road. BY JASMINE GALLUP jgallup@indyweek.com
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bout a year ago, Wendell Longshore got a letter saying he and his wife Karen were getting evicted. “[My landlord] tried to give me notice when the pandemic first happened,” Longshore told the INDY. “She said she was gonna give me 72 hours to move. They tried to strong-arm my wife and I to move out of here. We had to protect ourselves.” The couple had been paying the bills on their rental home in Burlington with disability money, since both were unable to work. In September, however, an administrative snafu caused a delay in their disability payments, putting them several months behind on rent. Longshore isn’t alone. As of June 8, more than 20,000 households in Wake County were behind on rent, with debt averaging about $3,855, according to nonprofit research group Surgo Ventures. While Longshore’s nonpayment was due to red tape, thousands of other North Carolinians became unable to pay bills when they lost jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic. 8
August 18, 2021
INDYweek.com
Renters got a last-minute reprieve earlier this month when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control issued an emergency extension of the moratorium on evictions. But there are still plenty of problems they’re struggling with, not least of which is the fact that the moratorium expires October 3. The current moratorium covers counties experiencing “high” or “substantial” community spread, which, in North Carolina, is currently all 100. As the pandemic eases or worsens in certain areas, however, that could change, says Isaac Sturgill, a lawyer with Legal Aid of North Carolina. If a county’s transmission rate falls to “low” or “moderate” and stays that way for 14 consecutive days, then people in the county are no longer protected from eviction. “The hope of the government is to … allow people to stay in place and give enough time for the rest of the (federal) rental assistance to be distributed,” Sturgill says. “What we are worried about … is that without some
strong, centralized guidance from the [Administrative Office of the Courts] that we may see variances in how judges and clerks across the state carry out this order.” Eviction lawyer Jamie Paulen has seen that variance in action. Paulen, who practices in multiple counties and was preparing to go to court in Alamance County earlier this month, says enforcement of the moratorium changes depending on where renters live. “Some jurisdictions are continuing the cases and saying, ‘You have to wait to have your trial until after the moratorium expires,’” Paulen says. “Some other jurisdictions have been hearing the cases and then they issue a judgment, but the clerk won’t issue a writ of possession or the sheriff won’t execute a lock-out.” Paulen adds that in some cities, such as Winston-Salem, “they’ve just completely ignored the moratorium full-stop.” “During the entire pandemic, thousands of people have been evicted in Forsyth County,” Paulen says. Even with the moratorium in place, there are other ways landlords can force out their tenants, Paulen says. With no rent control, landlords can raise the rent after a one-year lease expires and kick out a tenant if they don’t agree to the new terms—during a pandemic that has already surpassed the one-year mark. Some landlords have been selling their property or postponing repairs because they can’t afford upkeep, Paulen says. Others have taken matters into their own hands, despite not legally being allowed to evict tenants for nonpayment. “[On] April 7th of last year, I had a person contact me from Durham because her landlord drilled out the deadbolt in her door because she didn’t pay rent on April 1st,” Paulen says. “There’s no way this guy was that hard up … It was basically like, ‘If you’re not gonna leave, I’m gonna force you out.’” Likewise, at Longshore’s home, a property manager arrived one day to try to take down his front door. Repairs, as well, were delayed. Today, Longshore’s situation hasn’t changed much. He’s still behind on rent, but he has nowhere else to go. Longshore has been searching for another place to live, he says, but his main concern at the moment is scraping together enough money to bury his wife Karen, who died two weeks ago after 37 years of marriage. “I want a service first, but it’s gonna cost me $3,500,” Longshore says. “I have to raise this money so I can see her buried. After that, I can deal with the rest.”
Borrowed time The CDC’s extension of the moratorium bought everyone more time to figure out their next steps, but by all accounts, a housing crisis is on the horizon. Raleigh city councilman David Cox says he is worried about the imminent influx of people needing a place to