Editor's note: This article has been updated since it originally appeared in our September print issue.
Christie Marra, director of housing advocacy at the Virginia Poverty Law Center (Photo by Ash Daniel)
As local and state agencies work to provide emergency financial assistance for struggling Virginia renters and homeowners, housing advocacy groups are urging state lawmakers to take action against evictions spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.
At the request of Gov. Ralph Northam, the Supreme Court of Virginia on Aug. 10 enacted a statewide moratorium on evictions through Sept. 7, noting that the ongoing pandemic could endanger or impede tenants from defending themselves in court. Northam said the temporary freeze would allow him to work toward housing reforms with the General Assembly during the ongoing special session.
Since the state legislature reconvened, Northam has proposed investing $88 million toward eviction prevention efforts and the Virginia Housing Trust Fund, and has backed legislation introduced by Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, to halt evictions through April 2021. At the same time, the Centers for Disease Control on Monday filed an emergency nationwide ban on evictions for nonpayment of rent in the wake of the pandemic that is set to last from Sept. 4 through the rest of the year.
"Based on the convergence of COVID-19, seasonal influenza and the increased risk of individuals sheltering in close quarters in congregate settings such as homeless shelters, which may be unable to provide adequate social distancing as populations increase, all of which may be exacerbated as fall and winter approach, I have determined that a temporary halt on evictions through December 31, 2020, subject to further extension, modification, or rescission, is appropriate," Acting CDC Chief of Staff Nina Witkofsky wrote in the order.
Also on Monday, Northam also announced a $4 million grant toward the Legal Services Corporation of Virginia to hire 20 housing attorneys over the next two years to assist Virginians at risk of eviction. While one half of the grant was funded through state tax revenues collected from electronic skill machines, the remaining $2 million was donated by Swedish furniture chain IKEA.
The current statewide moratorium that is set to expire next week continues an earlier statewide ban that the court authorized in March but lapsed June 29. From then through Aug. 2, more than 15,000 eviction cases were heard in courts and 3,030 Virginians were evicted, according to court data compiled by the Legal Aid Justice Center.
Though the pandemic has exacerbated economic disparities, Richmond and Virginia residents faced evictions at higher than average rates even in normal times: A study by the Princeton University Eviction Lab revealed Richmond had the second-highest eviction rate of all major U.S. cities as of 2016.
While tenants’ rights organizers applauded the statewide eviction freeze, Christie Marra, Virginia Poverty Law Center’s director of housing advocacy, says mass unemployment and other challenges raised by COVID-19 still could result in widespread evictions if lawmakers don’t approve broader protections and an expanded rent and mortgage relief program to help tenants and homeowners stay in their homes once bans are lifted.
In late July, a weekly coronavirus-focused survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau found that 27% of approximately 1.7 million Virginia tenants had little or no confidence in their ability to pay the next month’s rent.
“We’re looking for the governor and the General Assembly to make those longer-term moves that will provide greater protection for people, but that said, this is definitely much-needed relief and a much-needed respite from those forcible evictions,” Marra says.
Additionally, Legal Aid Justice Center housing attorney Louisa Rich explains that while the moratorium prevents courts from issuing new writs of eviction due to unpaid rent — the final step in the eviction process that allows sheriffs to force evicted residents from their homes — it doesn’t block new eviction filings or scheduled unlawful detainer cases from moving forward. The previous moratorium closed courts to evictions entirely.
“It’s a subset of evictions that are stopped,” she adds. “It basically slows the process down for people that are going to be getting judgments this month, but [it doesn’t stop evictions] for people who [have] already gone past that stage and the writ has been issued, and it also doesn’t stop people from getting judgments on their record which they could be evicted for later.”
A study by the Princeton University Eviction Lab revealed Richmond had the second-highest eviction rate of all major U.S. cities as of 2016.
Patrick McCloud, CEO of the Virginia Apartment Management Association, meanwhile, describes the freeze as a temporary salve for renters that places economic strain on landlords.
“It’s just kicking the can down the road yet again, and doing this without really talking about meaningful housing assistance is not a sustainable plan,” he says.
While a subset of eviction cases is on hold, area renters like Tynisha Cook face an uncertain future. A United States Postal Service employee who rents a home in Henrico with her fiance, Cook left her old job as a package sorter to accept a new position within USPS before the pandemic hit. She’s been unable to start the new job because she hasn’t received training yet.
Cook says she hasn’t received a paycheck from the Postal Service since the pandemic began and has relied on unemployment benefits since April. She now faces an unlawful detainer claim from her landlord, who alleges she failed to pay her January rent. Cook, however, disputes the claim and says the landlord has been unwilling to cooperate as she’s attempted to set up a repayment plan.
“It’s horrible,” she says. “It’s to the point where now, not hearing anything from the Postal Service, I have started applying for other jobs, but to me, it seems like right now the whole world is applying for jobs.”
Housing advocates have pushed for an extended statewide freeze through next April, a move that Northam has supported but is still being negotiated among state lawmakers. Currently, the Virginia Senate has favored a revision that would end the moratorium 90 days after all COVID-related states of emergency are lifted.
A moratorium through April 31, 2021, would allow lawmakers enough time to enact tenant protections and allocate additional Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds toward a statewide rent and mortgage relief program launched by the governor in late June, the Virginia Poverty Law Center’s Marra says. A study by the National Low Income Housing Coalition found the state would need to allocate $2.3 billion toward rental assistance to effectively counteract mass evictions.
Alongside the statewide relief effort, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney directed $6 million in federal funds toward rental assistance and the city’s eviction diversion program, which is administered by Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME). Vice President and COO Monica Jefferson says the agency has continued serving clients in its pipeline.
The state’s rent relief program was financed with $50 million in federal dollars and is administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (VDHCD) with 30 local grantee agencies. It provides financial assistance for late rent or mortgage payments from April 1 onward. To qualify, families must prove a loss of income due to the pandemic and a gross household income that is at or below 80% of the area median income — $71,500 for a family of four in the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Grantees processed payments to 964 households during the program’s first month, VDHCD spokesperson Amanda Love says, while another 1,253 applicants are awaiting their payments due to incomplete documentation or pending negotiations with landlords and mortgage companies.
“What we’re seeing with the rent and mortgage relief program now is that a very good program was really rushed, and as a result, it’s not rolling out the way that everybody wants,” Marra says. “We don’t want to see that happen again, so let’s get a moratorium in place for as long as we might need it, and then we can have our lawmakers review that at various points.”
