Follow the Money: Indianapolis Evictions in 2022
Matt Nowlin and Erik Steiner report on the Indianapolis evictions data
Evictions are not tracked by any national reporting system and no major federal programs exist to specifically divert people away from being evicted. Each year, Indianapolis ranks among the highest cities in the country in total number of filings, trailing only New York and Detroit pre-pandemic. Indiana’s affordable housing prices and landlord friendly policies have made it an attractive place for large multifamily investors, and these companies file evictions at a startlingly high rate.
Substantial fluctuations in eviction policies and assistance programs during the pandemic have shaken up the landscape of eviction nationwide. Strong safety nets put in place during the pandemic reduced evictions dramatically in 2020 and somewhat in 2021. As these are being gradually dismantled, there is uncertainty how this will affect evictions.
This article examines six months of eviction data in Marion County from January 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022 in the midst of these changes to establish a post-pandemic baseline. We then use these data to discover who are responsible for these evictions, how many people face multiple evictions in the same six-month period, and how evictions relate to health department violations.
We find that 65 percent of eviction filings are from large multifamily developments, though only 14 percent of rental households live in these properties. One tenth of people with evictions in six months (1,300) are filed against multiple times, accounting for one fifth of all filings. The worst offenders of health department complaints and violations file evictions at the highest rate.
In Indiana, these programs have had a substantial impact. Some 60,000 residents of Indianapolis have benefitted from rental assistance managed through IndyRent.com. But with federal funds nearly depleted, as of July 29, 2022 both the statewide and Indianapolis programs have been paused and are no longer accepting new cases. (In Indianapolis, renters with active eviction cases are still being processed.) Rental assistance is drying up just at the moment when inflation is at a 40 year high, gas prices are spiking, and rental prices are up 70% in Indianapolis since 2020.
It would not be surprising to look back on this moment one year from now and mark it as the beginning of one of the worst periods of eviction on record.
Read the full article at https://www.savi.org/2022/08/05/follow-the-money-indianapolis-evictions-in-2022/
