Merc blatantly misleads on eviction realities
Someone asking you to pay your late rent is not the same as locking you out of your apartment. But you wouldn't know that from the Merc's 2.12.23 (reporter: Ethan Varian) article, which basically plays stenographer for extremist Housing Rights advocates to create a bogus narrative about a non-existent eviction "tsunami." Irene Smith and The Bay Area Housing Network fact-checked the Merc's two most dubious assertions.
Merc claims: Bay Area "evictions are soaring." There is "a surge of more than 10,000 eviction lawsuits filed across 5 Bay Area Counties."
Fact check: False and Misleading
The Merc is conflating two things which are not the same. A filing is not a removal nor a displacement. In fact, the filing is only the first legalistic step a housing provider takes in an effort to get back money owed them by a non paying tenant. The majority of eviction filings in Santa Clara County do not end up with the renter leaving the property, rather most end up with a negotiated settlement which results in partial or full payment of unpaid rent to the landlord. Well less than 1% of all rentals end up with an actual eviction. The Merc, however, headlines an infographic regarding eviction *filings* increases as "Evictions Soar." This is palpably false. Eviction filings of course increased this year, as there has been a three-year backlog regarding filings because of the pandemic-era eviction moratoria.
Merc: "High quality attorneys mean renters would have won their eviction case." “Only some currently have access to rental aid and legal representation, leaving many to navigate the often intimidating eviction process on their own.”
Fact check: Misleading
In Santa Clara County, the nonprofit Law Foundation is alerted when eviction cases have been filed. And the Law Foundation often represents renters—at no charge. Housing providers receive no such support from the government-funded non profits, and have to pay substantial legal fees in an effort to collect unpaid rents. The Merc offers zero evidence to suggest that legal help superior to the Law Foundation’s fine legal team would result in a different outcome. The truth is, even Clarence Darrow would not be able to remove debt that is owed through a valid rental contract.
Final comment from BAHN-SJ: San Jose could create its own rental voucher system to help folks who need temporary-to-long-term assistance until they can get a federal Section 8 voucher. Unfortunately, the only time a renter in need can get government financial assistance is when is if the housing provider actually files for an eviction. This is backward thinking: We should be able to proactively get in front of this problem and help renters through difficult times before they become unable to pay their housing provider.
This article originally appeared in Medium. Read the whole thing here.
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