| NEWS | No Relief Maricopa County evictions reach their highest level since pandemic began. BY KATYA SCHWENK N early two years ago, Maricopa County landlords were already trying to evict their renters at a steady clip, leading to one of the highest eviction rates in the nation. That was before the coronavirus pan- demic swept across the country, sickening millions and prompting economic lock- downs for public health and safety. Now, 23 months later, the number of evictions on record is spiking once again, Maricopa County data show. In January, landlords filed documenta- tion for 5,213 people to be evicted from their rental properties — an 18 percent increase over the previous month. The number of eviction filings stands 60 percent higher than the same month a year ago, when a federal moratorium on evictions was in effect. Local officials have touted the wide- spread availability of pandemic-related rental relief. And such support has saved some from losing their homes. But it can take a long time for the assis- tance to be disbursed to those who need it. One woman who was evicted in Decem- ber in Phoenix, Jennifer Gosnell, told Phoenix New Times that two months after she had put in her application — on December 1 — she had still not received any money from the city of Phoenix. Gosnell, who is in her late 30s, had lived in her former apartment complex in West Phoenix, The Collins, for four years. But her income dried up when the coronavirus pandemic hit, and she was never able to fully recover, she said. In December, her landlord filed eviction paperwork, giving her only days to move out. Now, Gosnell is living with her boy- friend temporarily and hopes that her rental assistance application will eventu- ally be approved. But even if it is, she worries that few apartments would rent to her, given the eviction on her record. “It’s been nothing short of horrific,” she said. Kristen Couturier, a public information officer with the city of Phoenix, confirmed that Gosnell had been waiting since December for motion on her application. Couturier said that if Gosnell were facing an eviction crisis, “she can communicate that to the city and we will be able to sched- ule her for an appointment right away.” But for Gosnell, it was too late. There were 50 percent fewer evictions in Maricopa County in 2020 because there was a federal ban. Even since the moratorium was lifted, back in August 2021, eviction filings have remained relatively low compared to his- toric trends, data show. “Not since February 2020 have we seen more than 5,000 filings in one month as we just did,” Scott Davis, public information officer for the justice courts, wrote in an email. Although the numbers suggest that evictions are slowly approaching pre-pan- demic levels, they still remain down from years prior. In January 2020, landlords filed for around 5,800 evictions in the county. In 2019, landlords filed for 6,213 evictions. Davis said that resources remain avail- able for tenants facing eviction — largely in the form of federal COVID-19 dollars that cities and counties have been disbursing as rental assistance. As of January 27, the city of Phoenix had disbursed $65 million in emergency rental assistance dollars since the program began in March 2020. Last month, the city was still providing rental assistance to just shy of 200 house- holds per week — with an average of about $6,000 in rental assistance per household. Until the end of December 2021, Wildfire AZ, a local community group, had been helping the city distribute the relief funds. Their contract with the city has now ended, so the remaining money will back into the hands of the city’s human services department. Kelly McGowan, deputy director of Wildfire, said that this winter the city was still receiving many first-time applications for rent relief, with little sign of such a trend waning. “There has been a pretty consistent in- flux of applications,” she said. “Rental prices are skyrocketing,” she said. “I think you’re just going to see a con- tinuation.” McGowan emphasized the significant impact that the rise in evictions represents. “An eviction is a really traumatic event,” she said, and one that can lead to “rippling consequences” throughout a person’s life. It was disheartening, she added, to see the crisis deepen even after the number of federal resources that cities and counties had been working to get to renters. “I don’t think anybody would have pre- dicted that we would still be navigating the pandemic in this way,” she said. Jennifer Gosnell Phoenix resident Jennifer Gosnell took a photo of her belongings outside after she was evicted in December 2021. 12 FEB 10TH– FEB 16TH, 2022 PHOENIX NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | NEWS | OPINION | FEEDBACK | CONTENTS | phoenixnewtimes.com
