Eviction in the United States
Eviction in the United States is the pattern of tenant removal by landlords in the United States. Landlords in the United States can evict tenants from a property for failure to pay rent, violation of the lease, or the decision of the landlord not to renew the lease. Eviction procedures, landlord rights, and tenant protections vary by state and locality.
Historically, the United States has seen changes in eviction rates during periods of economic turmoil—including the Great Depression, the Great Recession, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Rising housing costs and shortages of affordable housing contribute to increased eviction rates. Across the United States, low-income and disadvantaged neighborhoods have disproportionately higher eviction rates. Women, Black and Hispanic people, people with children, and low-income people are at a greater risk of eviction. In most jurisdictions, eviction filings remain on renters' public records. This can make it more difficult for evictees to access housing, since most landlords will not rent to a tenant with a history of eviction. Eviction and housing instability are linked with homelessness, poverty, and poor mental and physical health.
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Eviction in the United States is not fully understood due to poorly kept records and limited research on the topic. The federal government does not officially track or monitor evictions, nor has it subjected eviction to a comprehensive analysis. In 2016, sociologist Matthew Desmond published Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City which brought wide-scale attention to the United States eviction crisis. Desmond documented eviction patterns in impoverished Milwaukee neighborhoods, emphasizing the racial and gender disparities in eviction rates and the subsequent social cost on evictees. In 2017, Desmond and other researchers established a website known as The Eviction Lab to publish eviction data from various jurisdictions in the United States.