LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Tippecanoe County landlords filed 248 eviction cases the week after Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb's moratorium on evicting renters ended on Aug. 14, after five months of protection.
Before the coronavirus, landlords filed between 35 and 55 eviction cases in a week, Tippecanoe County Magistrate Dan Moore said.
The flood of filings for evictions is now closer to pre-COVID-19 numbers, but Moore doesn't know if that's because the Center for Disease Control and Prevention published its own nationwide moratorium on eviction in an effort to stop the spread of the virus.
“The governor’s order was a complete ban on evictions, initially," Moore said. "The governor then opened that up to emergency evictions but, aside from emergent situations, was still a complete bar. Even the filing of evictions."
Then, on Sept. 4, President Donald Trump ordered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to halt pandemic-related evictions through the end of the year for people earning less than $99,000 a year.
“The CDC regulation is a different animal, entirely,” Moore said. “It’s not a complete bar to evictions."
Moore said the CDC moratorium requires a tenant to file a declaration with the landlord, swearing under oath that:
- They have exhausted all attempts to get government assistance.
- The eviction would result in homelessness or force them to go to a communal living center.
- That they've made efforts to pay whatever they could pay.
"And they're supposed to detail that," Moore said.
Ann Ginda, managing attorney of Indiana Legal Services in Lafayette, said, “The problem now, (the CDC moratorium) puts on the tenant to provide a declaration to the landlord, but tenants aren’t aware of that affirmative duty.
“It requires that they take some actions.”
If you're confused, you're not alone.
Coronavirus turned the world upside down, and suddenly, people found themselves unemployed with the rent, utilities or mortgage bills pressing in on them. Landlords found themselves without revenue from rental units and no relief for the mortgages on the apartment buildings.
Indiana is bracing for a swarm of evictions caused by COVID-19-related job losses and reduced paychecks, despite a CDC extension of a moratorium until the end of the year.
One estimate says 313,000 Hoosiers, representing 42 percent of all renters, could face eviction when the moratorium ends, according to a report by investment bank Stout Risius Ross.
Some landlords say renters have used it as an excuse to stop paying rent even though their economic situation has remained steady. The Indiana Apartment Association reported since the moratorium started, delinquency rates have been as high as 24 percent, compared to 1 percent to 2 percent before the pandemic.
The Apartment Association contends the CDC extension will worsen the problem.
"Without any immediate relief, this order has the potential to jeopardize the very homes and residents this order intends to save, "said Sarah Olivero, a spokeswoman for the Apartment Association.
“It’s confusing," Ginda said of the past six months.
“I don’t know what the solution is for people who don’t have any income and no income in sight,” she said. “We are just talking about basic living.”
Help is available
People don't have to stumble down the unfamiliar path of possible evictions, foreclosure or utility shutoffs.
People in the community saw this problem developing in March when COVID-19 forced the closing of businesses, and Indiana's unemployment rate went from 3.1 percent in early March to 17.5 percent at the peak during the stay-at-home order.
Community and civic leaders set up a hotline to help connect people to resources in the community that can help keep them in their apartments or houses.
The Tippecanoe County COVID-19 Housing and Stability hotline is 765-201-0668, said Amy O’Shea, United Way director of community impact.
“There are people who call and really just don’t know where to start,” O'Shea said. “With COVID, things have changed quite a bit. There’s an ever-changing landscape or resources available.”
Call the hotline between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and a specially trained volunteer listens to the caller's problems, O'Shea said. The navigator passes the caller's contact information along to resources in the community that can help the caller's specific challenges.
Text the hotline or fill out a form at uwlafayette.org/housing and someone will reply in the next 24 hours, she said.
“It’s important work, and we’re glad to partner with so many community agencies willing to help," she said.
“It’s a very difficult time for a lot of people.”
Don't wait until the last minute
“Give us a call sooner rather than later,” O'Shea said when asked her advice for people who might be in a tight spot.
It's the same advice that Chrisy Wickes, Consolidated Property Management director of accounting and HR, gave when asked what she suggested.
Consolidated Property Management was among the property owners to flood the courts when eviction cases the week of Aug. 17.
“We filed close to 30," Wickes said of that week's 248 filings. "We only ended up with eight or nine evictions. Eviction is the last thing we want to do.
“We’ve been very proactive with our tenants,” she said. “We have really worked without our tenants.
“Some you can’t work with," she said, noting those are the tenants that were removed.
Since the pandemic struck, the state and federal unemployment benefits helped tenants. Starting in June, Holcomb assigned $25 million from the state's CARES Act money to provide individuals with $500 a month in rent relief for four months, she said.
In the Lafayette area, Consolidated Property owns and many operates complexes, including McCarty Place, Cross Point, Spring Garden and Windsor West.
“We have no vacancies right now,” Wickes said. “We have a lot of tenants working to stay in their units.
“They might be a little bit behind, but they’re trying to stay current.”
Wickes said landlords don't want to file to evict tenants. It's a business expense that often can be avoided. But if a landlord files for eviction, he knows the case likely will favor the landlord.
Wickes echoed O'Shea's advice to contact your landlord as soon as you know there's a problem.
“Please, call your landlord and work with them," Wickes said. "Landlords will work with you if you try.”
WHAT YOU CAN DO: The Tippecanoe County COVID-19 Housing and Stability hotline is 765-201-0668. The hotline is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays.
► To see the Declaration of Eligibility tied to the CDC eviction moratorium, go to jconline.com and click on the link to this story. The form also includes resources for rental and housing assistance in Greater Lafayette.
Contributing: IndyStar. Reach Ron Wilkins at 765-420-5231 or at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
Declaration of Eligibility form and other rental house assistance:
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Indiana braces for eviction crisis, community resources can help tenants avoid it - Journal & Courier
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