Conclusion

As the primary data source for understanding evictions in the United States, court eviction data plays an integral role in our ability to track and prevent formal evictions. And yet, the quality and accessibility of eviction court data varies widely across the country, contributing to an incomplete or partial understanding of formal eviction.

In this report, we explored what kind of data is typically generated and shared at various points in the formal eviction process, and how changes to court processes can contribute to improving the utility of this data. Indeed, better court eviction data has the potential to inform and improve the effectiveness of policy, advocacy, and research to help stem the tide of evictions across the United States, but only if we understand its limitations and opportunities, and work to proactively address them.