The Milwaukee Journal Editorial based on Matt Desmond’s new book Evicted builds upon some misperceptions about the rental industry.
A NYT reader’s comment on Desmond’s Evicted more closely follows what typical owners see when trying to run lower income housing.
The Journal editorial echoes Desmond’s advocating for legal representation for tenants in most evictions. If you frequent eviction court you seldom see a day without Legal Action representing tenants. ATCP 134 provides enticement for attorneys to represent tenants tenants tin cases where the owner is doing wrong.
Implying tenants need legal representation simply perpetuates a myth that wrongful evictions are common and owners somehow benefits from an eviction. In fact by the time it is over the owner has lost two to three months rent and often more. Legal representation for tenants in evictions seldom does more than simply let the tenant get another month of nonpayment before leaving.
In an average month eviction judgments in Milwaukee County exceed $847,000 – every month. But this is but a fraction of the losses suffered by property owners. Of those evictions, only a third of the cases had money judgments other than the court applied fees. Was this because the tenant did not owe rent? No, more likely because the owner did not want to waste more time chasing a judgment they will never collect. Those in our industry as well as those outside of the rental business will tell you that less than a quarter of uncollected rent ends up in eviction court.
This is money removed from housing and increases costs for the rest of the tenant population. While some tenants may use the money for real needs like shoes for kids, some use it for other things that further harm the community.
Then there is the comments about constructive (illegal) evictions. While statements like this flame the fires of hatred against landlords, such acts seldom occur and when they do there is adequate remedies for the tenant. I own two duplexes that a guy walked away from his 1/3 down and eight years of payments after he spent a weekend in jail because he threw the tenants’ belongings out on the front yard and changed the locks. Seems the tenant did not pay rent and when he went to find out why, he also found they broke the front picture window. His first stop after getting out of jail was my office to see if I would buy them for the remaining mortgage. Small owners take these things too personally…
Desmond’s book has brought the issue to the forefront. And this is good. Its is our industry’s job to make sure this does not turn from what it is, the bringing a real problem to light, into yet another excuse to bash the rental housing industry.
The part of the discussion that would be helpful to the overall community is increased housing vouchers. Universal food stamps for people in need was a good first step many years ago. Housing and utilities vouchers for those who need them the most would be a good next step.
