RVA Eviction Lab

This is an important critique, and one we're committed to centering in our own work. It's why we prioritize supporting those who have been focused on eviction and displacement @reduceevictions @HomewardVA @HOMEofVA @VPLC shelterforce.org/2018/08/22/evi…

Also new in our quarterly report is analysis of tenant legal representation: Tenants rarely have attorneys representing them and legal counsel results in better court outcomes for tenants. The median share of tenants who have attorneys in Virginia jurisdictions is 0.7%.

Our quarterly report now includes analysis of amounts owed in eviction cases: In Q1 of 2023 the statewide median principal owed was $2,270, which is an 89% increase from 2019, indicating the continued financial burden of the pandemic on household budgets.

Our 1st Quarter Report for 2023 is now available: Eviction judgments continue to increase post-COVID protections from 81% to 95% of pre-pandemic levels. rampages.us/rvaevictionlab…

NLIHC Releases Brief Detailing State-Level Tenant Protections Enacted Since Pandemic nlihc.org/news/nlihc-rel…

More than half of large buildings are owned by companies located in central Virginia. Across the region, eviction is highly concentrated spatially and by owner, overlapping significantly with Black neighborhoods:

9 parent companies that own rental housing in the region are each responsible for more than 1,000 eviction judgments, which is 31% of all judgments in the region from 2019-2015. 24 companies are responsible for the majority of all eviction filings.

We analyzed eviction filing patterns in the region's large apartment buildings, which comprise almost 70% of all rental housing, 75% of all filings, and 67% of judgments in Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield. rampages.us/rvaevictionlab…

Richmond City Council has declared a housing crisis in a city with one of America’s highest eviction rates. @Kate_Howell_Phd and @BenFTeresa, co-directors of @RVAEvictionLab at the @VCUWilderSchool, share suggestions for how the city can move forward. news.vcu.edu/article/2023/0…

Who is the VEC for? Everyone! Whether you are a tenant, lawyer, advocate, organizer, or community member, the VEC is designed to help you learn more about the patterns of eviction.

Serial filings are multiple filings by a plaintiff against the same defendant within the same ZIP Code within a 12-month period. Research indicates that landlords use serial filings to leverage the court for debt collection as opposed to removal. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.111…

Big news! The Virginia Evictors Catalog (VEC) has been updated to include serial filings and all data through December 2022. Follow along to learn more about what that means. 🧵 rampages.us/rvaevictionlab…

These ideas are explored more in depth here: metropolitics.org/Displacement-D…

Our new Narrative Mapping Project is now live on our site. By connecting archival research, oral histories & spatial data, this project links current problems of housing instability with previous periods of exclusion, dispossession, and demobilization. rampages.us/rvaevictionlab…

Both eviction filings and eviction judgments are the highest they’ve been in Northern VA since 2019- according to RVA Eviction Lab 4th Quarter Report. Read the full report here ⬇️ rampages.us/rvaevictionlab…

Additionally, increased housing instability is driven by rent increases, with 40% of all renters reporting increases greater than $100, about 8% of VA median rent. 29% of Black renters report increases greater than $250, which is close to a 19% increase in the median rent.

Based on historical data reporting trends, 2022 will almost certainly have more evictions than 2020 and 2021 combined.

2022 4th Quarter Report Overall in Q4 filings and judgments appear to have slowed or declined, a trend that will likely reverse once courts have reported all cases. Compared to prepandemic years, in 2022 eviction increased dramatically across the state. rampages.us/rvaevictionlab…