Richmond’s eviction filing rate among highest in a study of U.S. cities
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Richmond and Chesterfield landlords are filing so many evictions each month that they're nearing pre-pandemic averages, per the latest data from Princeton's Eviction Lab.
Why it matters: Nearly 1 in 4 renters were at risk of losing housing in the past year in an increasingly unaffordable region without enough shelter capacity.
The big picture: In number of evictions filed per 100 renter households, Richmond claimed the No. 2 spot among 33 cities U.S. cities monitored by Eviction Lab during a year, including New York.
- The rate of renters who received eviction filings here dropped from about 31% in 2016 to 23% this past year.
- But that's still nearly three times the national average of about 8%, per Eviction Lab figures.
- The only city in the Eviction Lab report with a higher rate was Greenville, South Carolina, at 25%.
Between the lines: Landlord filings can also limit a renter's future housing options for years, even in cases where the courts rule that the tenants shouldn't be evicted.
Eviction Lab's Juan Pablo Garnham tells Axios that while Richmond renters are in a better situation than pre-pandemic times, the numbers "are incredibly high."
- The expiration of most pandemic-era eviction protections in 2022, including the eviction moratorium and rent relief programs, triggered a surge in eviction filings statewide.
Since those protections expired, Eviction Lab data found Richmond and Chesterfield's filings creeping closer to pre-COVID averages.
- June 2022: down 56% from the monthly averages between 2016 and 2019.
- June 2023: down 20%.
- June 2024: down 9%.
Zoom in: The Lab's data, which looks at 10 states and 34 cities, also shows a persistently uneven eviction filing landscape.
- While the filing rate was 23% overall in the area last year, it was 58% in Chesterfield ZIP code 23120.
- It was 45% in Richmond's 23225 and 39% in the city's 23224, or basically all of South Richmond.
Threat level: In Richmond, 13 companies filed evictions in 50% or more of their units last year, per the Times-Dispatch.
What's happening: No single policy drives eviction filings down, but Pablo Garnham tells Axios that there's a link between eviction filing rates and how much landlords have to pay to submit a filing.
- Virginia's average filing cost is relatively low at $44, per Eviction Lab. Richmond's is $40 and Chesterfield's is $44.
- Minnesota, which has the lowest eviction filing rate among the states analyzed at 3%, has an average $295 fee.
- The fee in Philadelphia, a larger-than-Richmond city with a 4% filing rate, is about $140.
What we're watching: The outcomes of Richmond's $500,000 pilot program that guarantees a right to counsel for tenants who are facing eviction but can't afford a lawyer.
- The RVA Eviction Lab found that in 2020, an eviction judgment was 30% less likely to happen if a renter had a lawyer with them.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that Richmond's No. 2 ranking is among the cities Eviction Lab monitors (not all cities).