NEWS

WITH EVICTION MORATORIUM ENDING, AREA ORGANIZATIONS TRY TO MITIGATE THE FALL OUT

BY HANNAH HERNER

On July 31, the federal moratorium on evictions came to a close after 16 months in place. An estimated 167,000 Tennessee households are behind on rent and at risk of eviction, according to the National Equity Atlas. As of press time, no measures had been taken to keep the moratorium in effect.

It’s impossible to get an eviction expunged in Tennessee. As such, if a person is evicted, the eviction will stay on their record indefinitely.

“The detriment of having an eviction on your record is kind of catastrophic,” says Zac Oswald with Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee. “So to the extent that a tenant can comfortably make an arrangement with their landlord to avoid an eviction being there, they should probably do so.”

A future landlord is, in fact, allowed to hold that eviction against you, except for some situations of domestic violence, Oswald added.

A proposed bill in the 112th Tennessee General Assembly (SB820/ HB919) that would have prohibited “a landlord from refusing to enter into a rental agreement with a prospective tenant solely based upon the tenant being previously evicted during a public health emergency related to COVID-19,” was taken off notice in both chambers in March of this year.

Oswald says during the pandemic they’ve seen landlords and tenants come to an agreement, even if that agreement is that the tenant move out before an eviction is served and the back rent is waived. Otherwise, back rent is an issue, too. And that can follow you for at least six years, the statute of limitations for collecting debt on a contract such as a lease.

“The main issues that we see with the moratorium in place is landlords seeking self help, shutting off people's utilities, changing their locks, things like that, because they know they can’t go through the court system so they're using extrajudicial means to try and force tenants out,” Oswald says.

In a case like that, tenants should get legal help immediately, Oswald says. An attorney can even request attorney fees from the landlord if the tenant wins. Legal Aid can take some of these cases, but has limited capacity, and refers out to other private attorneys, too.

Now that the moratorium is over, tenants who are in danger of being evicted should watch for a detainer warrant, which notifies the tenant of a court date for the eviction hearing. It’s delivered in-person or taped on the door. For 98 percent of renters in Uniform Residential Landlord Tenant Act, which applies to the largest 17 counties in Tennessee, leases include waiving your right to notice of an eviction. It’s something to be aware of, Oswald says.

If evicted in court, the tenant has 10 days to move out, before the landlord has power to forcefully remove the tenant with help from the police. Oswald would like to see more landlords initiating applications for financial aid, as they are often more tech-savvy and have the necessary documents more readily available.

“My opinion on this is that we have saturated the tenant market with 'this rent relief is out there,'” Oswald says. “I think everybody who's gonna know through the means that we have capable knows about it and probably has applied, but I'm not sure that we've done the outreach to the landlords to saturate that market yet.”

One place to look for rent relief is the Metro Action Commission’s HOPE (Housing, Opportunity, Partnership & Employment) program. They have plenty of money to distribute — out of the first allotment of $20 million, Metro Action has given out $10.8 million. And spokesperson Lisa McGrady added that this is just the first part of a total of $58 million coming for rent relief meant for people impacted by COVID-19.

“We needed to make sure that people understood that being COVID impacted is more than just having the virus,” McGrady says. “I don't know that there's anybody that can't say that they've been impacted by COVID.”

That can include being in the entertainment industry, or having to rearrange childcare with at-home schooling, or even buying PPE. Most of those who completed their applications did, in fact, get the funding. Out of 1,426 completed applications, 1,200 got funding.

McGrady says incomplete applications are a problem. Out of the 4,712 applications received, 1,811 have missing or pending documentation. The application requires access to an email account, an ID, proof of income, proof of financial hardship, the current lease agreement, and eviction or late rent notice. MAC has also continued to hold fairs at local community centers to help with this process. If you can’t get the documents necessary for income, you can do a written attestation on just a blank sheet of paper, McGrady added.

“I think the biggest barrier is maybe an applicant just freezing, because this is a lot to happen to you, being that far behind, and to conceptualize there is a resource that can take care of that debt for you,” she says.

HOPE funding isn’t connected to the moratorium, and doesn’t expire until September 2022. One can get 18 total months’ worth of rent, so those in need can reapply if they haven’t already hit that limit. For an organization that’s been around since 1964, this influx of funds is a big change — in the past they’ve only been able to offer one month’s worth of past-due rent. This money can include utility assistance, and can pre-pay three months’ worth of rent. It goes straight to the landlord’s bank account.

MAC cannot help prospective tenants find housing, but they can help folks pay the deposit for a new apartment as well.

Judge Rachel Bell’s L.E.G.A.C.Y. Housing Resource Diversionary Court and Program only handles cases for eviction for nonpayment of rent every Tuesday at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Knowing that the end of the moratorium is already causing an uptick in landlord filing, Bell hopes that tenants and landlords will be proactive by attending their court date, and starting an application for HOPE funds, and applying through an online form to participate in the court. It’s also incredibly beneficial to have a lawyer, through an organization like Legal Aid, she says.

It’s best to complete the application to participate in L.E.G.A.C.Y. before they go to the initial court date, Bell says. And there’s always the option to ask to be transferred at that initial date.

“Try to get ahead of it so that we can help you before you end up going to eviction court. And when you go to the eviction court, plead and ask the judge, you know, hey, I would like to get my case transferred,” Bell says.

The catch with this, is that both the landlord and the tenant must be on board with taking this route, in lieu of an eviction trial.

“The majority of the landlords in my diversionary court want to see that the tenant is able to get back up on their feet, they want to see this tenant is able to avoid having eviction and definitely avoid having that on the record,” Bell says.

More than a court, it’s a program. As part of it, Bell facilitates partnerships with MAC, United Way, Salvation Army, and other area service providers to try to prevent further housing insecurity. Bell’s program has just added two housing navigators to help facilitate this.

The ultimate goal is to keep an eviction off the tenant’s record, and prevent them from being in that situation again.