Talking Points: How Better Eviction Data Helps Prevent Evictions and Cuts Down Costs

→ Studies show it's cheaper to prevent evictions than to assist displaced tenants after an eviction. Helping out a tenant with a missed rent payment is much more cost effective than rehousing someone once they’re displaced or homeless.

→ Timely, detailed eviction filing data allows service providers to help a tenant before an eviction hearing, for example through mediation, rental assistance, or legal aid.

→ Evictions are bad for families, and homelessness is even worse. Research shows that homelessness is also more expensive to solve than eviction. Better data on evictions, including data on which families risk falling into homelessness after an eviction, helps prevent homelessness.

Example: Pre-filing eviction prevention in Syracuse, NY

The Syracuse Housing Authority (SHA) collaborated with local organizations to use rental payment histories and rental registry data to implement an eviction prevention initiative. Properties participating in the program experienced a 75 percent reduction in evictions.

→ Eviction prevention resources are scarce. Knowing which neighborhoods and populations experience the most evictions helps direct legal aid, rental assistance, and mediation services to hotspots—reducing both evictions and costs for public systems.

→ Eviction prevention resources are scarce. Knowing when during the year evictions spike helps plan for allocating surge legal aid, rental assistance, and mediation capacity.

Example: Washington, D.C.'s eviction hotspots

In Washington, D.C., nearly 60 percent of all eviction filings occur in Wards 7 and 8, even though only about one-quarter of renters live in those areas. This data enables targeted allocation of legal aid and rental assistance to the places most affected.

→ A small number of landlords, and a small number of addresses, typically account for the majority of a city’s evictions. Knowing the addresses where evictions are filed and the landlords filing them lets local leaders identify these frequent filer landlords and properties, and target mediation services or enforcement activity for predatory evictions. Preventing evictions can be in the best interest of both the landlord and the tenant.

Example: Serial evictors in Indianapolis

In Indianapolis, research by Indiana University-Indianapolis found that the city’s 50 top evictors are responsible for 55 percent of evictions (6,338 eviction filings). This data enables targeted intervention with a manageable number of landlords, for outsized impact.

→ In many cities, evictions represent between a quarter and a third of civil court filings. Better eviction data helps us intervene early to offer mediation and rental assistance, and to reduce the volume of cases that reach the courts. Lightening court dockets not only saves administrative resources but also increases the time that judges can spend hearing cases and results in fairer outcomes for both landlords and tenants.

Example: Eviction diversion lightens court dockets in Philadelphia

Philadelphia’s Eviction Diversion Program, which mandates landlords to engage in out-of-court negotiations with tenants before initiating eviction proceedings, resulted in a 41 percent reduction in eviction filings.

→ Tracking eviction filings and judgments over time allows us to measure the effectiveness of eviction prevention policies and programs and adjust them as needed.

→ Tracking evictions over time allows us to monitor the impact of legal and policy changes (e.g., good cause for eviction and right to counsel programs), advocate for structural solutions to reduce evictions, and ultimately decrease the volume of eviction cases.

Example: Evaluating ERAP efficacy in Massachusetts

Massachusetts utilized eviction data to evaluate the effectiveness of its Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). By analyzing eviction filings and judgments over time, the state could measure the program's success in preventing evictions and adjust strategies accordingly.