Evictions are on the rise in Virginia after numerous protections provided by federal and state rental assistance programs ended.

According to the Richmond Eviction Lab, the number of renters in Virginia fearing eviction during the first quarter of 2022 was 58%, almost double from the fourth quarter of 2021.

Christie Marra, director of housing advocacy at the Virginia Poverty Law Center, said a "perfect storm of evictions" has been brewing for some time now. She pointed out tenants' protections have practically evaporated over the last few months, but identified an important one remaining.

"The tenant still has what we call a right of redemption, which simply means that they have the right to pay everything they owe the landlord up until 48 hours before the sheriff comes, and they have to stop that eviction, in most cases," Marra explained. "There are a few exceptions to that for tenants who rent from small mom-and-pop landlords."

Numerous landlords have filed eviction cases to be prosecuted over what advocates said are unrealistic periods of time. Marra cites one apartment complex in Chesterfield called Rollingwood prosecuting 59 cases in one week. Another has 99 eviction cases to be prosecuted over a 10-day period. She does not want people to think it is about people unable to pay their rent, rather she charges there is a larger issue with evictions becoming part of a larger corporate landlord's business model.

Though the numbers are rising, Marra feels elected officials at each level of government can take action to slow it down or stop it entirely. At a local level, she suggested having a right to legal counsel to provide tenants with more equal footing when fighting eviction cases. On a state level, she hopes to see some pandemic-era requirements return.

"We had, during the pandemic, a requirement that made landlords give tenants 14 days to pay late rent, between the time they get the notice that, 'Hey, you didn't pay your rent. Here's what you owe. Here's the rent, here's the late fee. Please pay,' and the time they can take them to court," Marra recounted. "Five days is not enough time."

More time allows people to get their next paycheck, which Marra feels will help people make late payments more quickly. Federally, she feels emergency rental assistance needs to be made available all the time, not just in times of great crisis.

A new report found Hoosier homeowners and renters face significant challenges from environmental hazards and climate change.

"The State of Fair Housing in Indiana" report from the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana, highlighted a growing concern over environmental issues like air pollution, lead exposure and rising water levels, which are disproportionately affecting Black and brown communities and families with children.

Brady Ripperger, deputy director of administration and advocacy at the center, called it environmental racism.

"If you've not heard of that, it's really important to be aware of that as we discuss climate change in our state and ensuring that our formerly redlined communities are not the ones that are the least protected when it comes to environmental disasters," Ripperger asserted.

The report showed many Superfund sites, polluted areas needing extensive cleanup, are in historically redlined neighborhoods, primarily home to communities of color. The areas often suffer from poor air quality, lack of tree coverage and higher heat exposure, particularly in cities like Gary and Indianapolis.

Ripperger pointed out one alarming finding in the report is the effect of regional airports, such as Purdue University Airport, where nearby residents face higher risks of lead-based airborne pollution.

"Regional airports that use smaller aircraft still use lead-based gasoline," Ripperger explained. "We specifically in the report looked at West Lafayette and found that there's a large despair of impact for individuals of color, specifically Asian Americans and Hispanics or Latino residents."

Ripperger argued without action soon, environmental hazards will continue to haunt and harm Hoosiers.

"There're major issues across the country in housing stock," Ripperger outlined. "There might be more prevalence in locations to Superfund sites or brownfield sites, there might be lack of tree coverage which is so important as the environment is getting hotter and hotter, and then there're also issues such as air quality."


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From July, 2023 to July, 2024, Nebraska landlords filed more than 10,000 eviction cases. That's compared with an average of around 8,400 filings per year between 2012 and 2019. Legal Aid of Nebraska's Housing Justice Project represents hundreds of Nebraskans facing eviction each year, and a new $50,000 grant from the United Way of the Midlands will help with this work.

Scott Mertz, Housing Justice Project Director, said the shortage of quality affordable housing makes it a bit of a "seller's market," contributing to the rise in evictions.

"People are not shy about just going right to eviction court when they have tenants that they want to just get rid of. It's relatively easy; it's relatively quick," he explained. "That's also something we'd like to push back against - make it a little more difficult, make it a little more time-consuming, so that people aren't just going right to the eviction."

Mertz pointed out that even when an eviction filing in Nebraska ends without a court judgment, it will show up on a person's background check. This can impact their housing and even employment options for years to come. In 2023, 60% of eviction filings nationwide were against women, with Black women disproportionately represented.

A "clean-slate" bill which would have "sealed" eviction filings when cases were dismissed or vacated was unsuccessful in the recent Unicameral session. Mertz says the potential long-term harm an eviction filing can cause keeps a percentage of the people they see from pursuing their rights in court.

"They talk to us and say, "Well, I got this notice; I don't agree with it." We think there's a case here; there's evidence. We're more than happy to present it. But they leave anyway because it's scary - having a day in court and having your name in a case that's never going to go away, " he continued.

Mertz said the United Way grant will help toward their goal of doing more "affirmative litigation," that is, addressing issues before they reach a court filing.

"Quality of housing, conditions, safety concerns, discriminatory practices in renting or terminating housing. These are all things that happen all the time, and we can only do so much with the resources and the amount of attorney hours that we have, " he explained.

He encourages anyone concerned they face a risk of losing their housing to call or go online to find out what their rights and options are. And he stresses that things move very fast from eviction notice to court date.

The U.S. Justice Department has issued a ruling against a Livingston, Montana, landlord for discriminating against a tenant. The consent decree requires the defendant to complete training on discrimination in housing and awards the complainant $25,000.

A tenant of a Livingston apartment complex alleged Yellowstone Apartments landlord Dana Christian discriminated against her after the tenant asked Christian to stop making advances toward her daughter who was visiting her mother from Russia. The complaint alleged Christian made life increasingly difficult for the tenant after the complaint, even though she had lived there for years with no issues. The Justice Department ordered Christian to pay $25,000 to compensate her for moving costs, time and emotional hardship.

Pam Bean, executive director of the nonprofit Montana Fair Housing, said the ruling sets a precedent for equal housing opportunity.

"When issues arise such as did with this complainant, there's an avenue to address those, hopefully prior to the filing of complaints," Bean explained.

The federal court ruling also requires Christian to undergo training on what constitutes housing discrimination and post Montana's fair housing guidelines on the properties he manages.

Bean called the ruling a win for renters across Montana, who sometimes feel like they do not have the power to fight landlord discrimination cases for fear of the same type of retribution laid out in the Christian case.

"Providing housing providers the message that this behavior is intolerable and is illegal," Bean added.

Christian has not responded to requests for comment.