1. Virginia Housing Alliance Housing Credit Conference Eviction Prevention & Racial Equity in Housing September 24, 2019
Martin Wegbreit, Esq., Director of Litigation
Central Virginia Legal Aid Society
101 West Broad Street, Suite #101
Richmond, VA
(V) & (F)
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2. The Virginia eviction crisis & its causes
Virginia has five of the top ten highest eviction rates among large U.S. cities: #2 – Richmond (11.44%) #3 – Hampton (10.49%) #4 – Newport News (10.23%) #6 – Norfolk (8.65%) #10 – Chesapeake (7.9%) Virginia has three of the top five highest eviction rates among mid- size U.S. cities: #2 – Petersburg (17.56%) #4 – Hopewell (15.69%) #5 – Portsmouth (15.07%)

3. The Virginia eviction crisis & its causes
Lack of affordable housing
Poverty
Unfavorable landlord-tenant laws
Archaic legal terminology
Relatively higher cost of living
Gentrification
Foreclosure aftermath
Older housing stock
Relatively lower wages
Relatively little support for tenants
Five years without Medicaid expansion
Government sponsored segregation

4. 1937 Richmond Residential Security Map
2016 Richmond Eviction Map

6. The Richmond eviction crisis & its causes
● 30.9% of all Richmond renters receive a notice of eviction each year ● Court eviction affects about 40,000 people in Richmond subject to 17,981 eviction lawsuits filed each year ● Most eviction lawsuits result in judgments of possession - 10,929 of them ● Most judgments of possession result in writs of possession authorizing the sheriff to forcibly remove the tenant - 9,381 of them ● Richmond Sheriff’s office evicts 2,688 families each year. A large number of tenants also involuntarily move before sheriff arrives to forcibly evict. ● Eviction is not just one problem. It is a dozen problems. It affects whether people have access to banks or payday lenders, where children go to school, where their parents get jobs, can buy food, get health care, have access to public transportation, and live in a safe or crime-ridden area. The stress of eviction also makes it a mental health issue.

7. ● Families with children are evicted at double the rate of families without children. Eviction is a child welfare issue. ● Ten out of eighteen Richmond elementary schools in neighborhoods with eviction rates above the City average of 11.44% are unaccredited ● Six out of seven Richmond elementary schools in neighborhoods with eviction rates below the City average of 11.44% are fully accredited ● Richmond eviction rate increases as the share of the minority population increases, even when holding income and other factors constant. Eviction is a racial issue. ● Eviction poses immediate risk of homelessness & loss of personal property, and families move into poor quality neighborhoods & housing ● Likelihood of being laid off is 15% higher for workers who had an eviction ● A judgment of possession, or even the filing of an eviction lawsuit, makes it much harder for a family to rent another unit and may make a family not eligible for affordable housing

8. THE GEOGRAPHY OF EVICTION IN RICHMOND: BEYOND POVERTY Benjamin F
THE GEOGRAPHY OF EVICTION IN RICHMOND: BEYOND POVERTY Benjamin F. Teresa, PhD RVA Eviction Lab
The most common reason landlords evict tenants is for not paying rent. At first glance, it may seem logical to assume that poverty—simply not having enough money to make rent—is the underlying cause of eviction. However, households face various kinds of displacement pressure that ultimately causes them to be unable to afford rent, many other less common reasons for eviction, and involuntary displacement that occurs outside of the formal, legal eviction process. This report focuses on the relationship between eviction and urban geography in the City of Richmond in order to begin to unravel the different causes of eviction and how they are distributed across the city. The report examines neighborhood-level eviction data and what factors have measurable effects on the eviction rate.

9. THE GEOGRAPHY OF EVICTION IN RICHMOND: BEYOND POVERTY Benjamin F
THE GEOGRAPHY OF EVICTION IN RICHMOND: BEYOND POVERTY Benjamin F. Teresa, PhD RVA Eviction Lab
The analysis shows that: • Neighborhood racial composition is a significant factor in determining eviction rates, even after controlling for income, property value, and other characteristics. • As the share of the African American population increases, the eviction rate increases. • As the share of non-Hispanic Whites increases, the eviction rate decreases. • Demographic and housing market characteristics do not explain why high & low eviction rates are concentrated in certain parts of the city, suggesting that other factors such as rental housing ownership, financing, and property management strategies may play an important role in eviction.

12. SOURCE: VA DEPT OF EDUCATION, PRINCETON EVICTION LAB, US DEPT OF EDUCATION OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS

13. Richmond Region
Percent non-white/Percent Black
Poverty Rate Median Property Value
Median Household Income
Percent Rent Burdened
Median Rent
Percent Renter Occupied
Most influential Neighborhood Characteristics’ Influence on Eviction Rate Less Influential

14. Hampton Roads Region
Percent non-white/Percent Black
Median Household Income
Percent Renter Occupied
Median Property Value
Percent Rent Burdened
Poverty Rate
Median Rent
Most influential Neighborhood Characteristics’ Influence on Eviction Rate Less Influential

15. Virginia
Percent non-white/Percent Black
Median Property Value
Percent Rent Burdened
Poverty Rate
Percent Renter Occupied
Median Rent
Median Household Income
Most influential Neighborhood Characteristics’ Influence on Eviction Rate Less Influential