Maricopa County landlords filed more evictions in 2024 than ever before. The 87,197 eviction cases filed last year passed a record going all the way back to 2005.
“We’ve been seeing all year long the numbers are rising, rising, rising,” said Maricopa County Justice Courts spokesperson, Scott Davis.
Davis said filings typically slow down in the winter, but that hasn’t been the case this season.
“Just last month, we had our busiest December ever with more than 7,000 evictions filed. And that was a little bit of a surprise,” Davis said.
Not all eviction filings result in someone losing their home. But the rise in eviction cases comes as homelessness is on the rise nationwide and remains very high in metro Phoenix. The Maricopa Association of Governments reports people are becoming homeless in the Phoenix area at nearly twice the rate homeless people are finding housing.
Maricopa County Justice Courts data shows, since the end of pandemic-era renter protections, there has been a steady increase in eviction filings. Last year, eviction filings were up about 27% over 2019, the last pre-pandemic year.
Population growth, a lack of affordable units and high rent costs have contributed to the rise in cases.
As of 2022, about 27% of multifamily renter households in Maricopa County were severely cost-burdened, spending more than half of their income on rent, according to MAG.
Davis said if tenants aren’t going to be able to pay their rent on time, it’s critical they stay in close communication with their landlord.
“The more tenants speak to their landlords ahead of time, the more landlords are going to be willing to work with those tenants and maybe give them a couple of extra days,” Davis said.
While the number of eviction filings has increased, Davis said over the last few years more tenants have been attending their eviction hearings. During the COVID-19 pandemic, courts began allowing tenants to attend hearings virtually, which has become a popular option, Davis said. Before the pandemic tenants would fail to appear in court in 30% to 40% of cases, but that rate has now dropped below 25%, Davis said.
“They still may find themselves receiving an eviction judgment, but they’re participating in the process. They learn what they could have done differently, they learn where they can go for help,” Davis said.
Davis said about a third of tenants in the last few years have also been able to have their eviction cases sealed from public records, since the Arizona Legislature changed a law to streamline the sealing process.
“If tenants can keep those filings from appearing on record in a background check, that’s going to help them in all future housing,” Davis said.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The story has been updated clarify that the total number is for eviction filings.
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