Landlords Filing Evictions to Speed Rent Relief Funds

In spite of federal eviction moratoriums, reports Kriston Capps, "Columbus-area landlords have filed nearly 17,000 evictions in the 16 months since the start of the pandemic, according to Princeton University’s Eviction Lab," with some happening for a surprising reason: "[s]ome landlords are taking their tenants to court in order to speed the delivery of federal rent relief."

"For the City of Columbus and Franklin County, rent relief funds are distributed by IMPACT Community Action, a nonprofit organization (one that was operating out of the convention center for the last year). A memo from the Willis Law Firm, dated March 11 and available on the Columbus Apartment Association website, advises landlords who are eager to get a federal bailout for renters in arrears to move immediately to evict."

The memo notes, "IMPACT has typically been slow when it comes to paying out rental assistance before an eviction is filed. We have found that the number 1 way and the quickest way to get assistance for a tenant is to actually file an eviction because the tenant can meet face-to-face with IMPACT at court." Meanwhile, "[s]ome aid programs under the CARES Act required tenants to have an eviction notice in order to get rental assistance," and federal help has been slow to arrive: "Just 7% of the $565 million designated for Ohio in the first round of emergency rental assistance reached Ohio renters by the end of June, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Treasury Department."

According to tenant advocates,"this legal strategy lines up with a longstanding practice by large landlords to rely on courts to settle their disputes." Now, "[w]ith another eight weeks added to the eviction moratorium, there is more time to get the money out to tenants in need.," but "even if the landlord is made whole, some damage is done, since tenants bear the mark of an eviction filing on their rental history even when the case is dismissed or if the tenant wins the case."