'A lot of fear': Rent hikes across the country mean eviction notices for many Americans

Michael M. Santiago, Getty Images

USA Today reports that increasing number of tenants live in fear of evictions because they can no longer afford their rent. Rent hikes are at an all-time high, “In recent years, cities across the United States have seen dramatic rent hikes. As a result, eviction filing rates are surging, particularly in the South and Southwest, where the rent increases are among the biggest, according to data collected by the Eviction Lab.” Landlords use evictions to remove tenants who either can’t pay the higher rates or are trouble, i.e. complain about inhabitable conditions. “The rent hikes of 20% or more are happening because landlords expect to find tenants in the hot housing market who will pay the higher rents, which pushes more people out of their longtime homes that used to be affordable.”

In Nashville, evictions have spiked since January 2022, sometimes exceeding 2016 to 2018 rates by more than 50%. "Oh my God, I’m horrified because the human suffering that is connected to that is terrible. My god. It’s horrific there," said Schwartz-Naber, who herself has experienced eviction. In 2003, the single mom and her daughter were kicked out of their home and the shock forced a cross-country move to Florida.

This is a human problem… real people are effected.