Eviction Filings by Private Equity Firms and Other Large Landlords Surge Despite CDC Eviction Moratorium

On September 1, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a moratorium on residential evictions through the end of the year to help limit the spread of COVID-19, noting:

“In the context of a pandemic, eviction moratoria—like quarantine, isolation, and social distancing—can be an effective public health measure utilized to prevent the spread of communicable disease. Eviction moratoria facilitate self-isolation by people who become ill or who are at risk for severe illness from COVID-19 due to an underlying medical condition. They also allow State and local authorities to more easily implement stay-at-home and social distancing directives to mitigate the community spread of COVID-19. Furthermore, housing stability helps protect public health because homelessness increases the likelihood of individuals moving into congregate settings, such as homeless shelters, which then puts individuals at higher risk to COVID-19.”

Yet eviction filings, including evictions by private equity firms and other corporate landlords, have surged in a number of states in the weeks since the moratorium was announced.

The Private Equity Stakeholder Project reviewed eviction cases filed in Maricopa County, Arizona (Phoenix), Harris County (Houston) and Tarrant County, Texas (Ft. Worth), Shelby County, Tennessee (Memphis), DeKalb and Clayton Counties in Georgia (Atlanta), and several counties in Florida (Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville) and found more than 3,500 eviction cases filed by private equity firms and other corporate landlords since the CDC eviction moratorium was announced.

Despite the CDC eviction moratorium, eviction filings by private equity firms and other large landlords appear to be accelerating. Large landlords filed at least 964 cases in the week after the CDC moratorium was announced. Last week (September 14-20), they filed more than 1,900 eviction cases in the cities listed.

Media coverage:

“Eviction Filings by Big Landlords Surged After Trump Issued Ban,” Bloomberg, Sept 14, 2020.

“How Does the Federal Eviction Moratorium Work? It Depends Where You Live,” New York Times, Sept 16, 2020.

“The CDC banned evictions, but some renters are still vulnerable,” CNBC, Sept 10, 2020.

“These 62 landlords received at least $60 million in taxpayer bailouts. Now they are evicting tenants.” Popular Information, Sept 15, 2020.

Affiliates of some of the largest landlords in the country have filed to evict tenants since the CDC moratorium was announced on September 1, including Greystar Real Estate Partners (693,000 apartments managed, 140,000 owned), Mid America Apartment Communities (100,000 apartments), Invitation Homes (80,000 rental homes), Starwood Capital (75,000+ apartments and rental homes), and Yes! Communities/ Stockbridge Capital (56,000 mobile home sites).

Several landlords have filed a disproportionate number of eviction cases since September 1, including Ventron Management (162 cases), Western Wealth Capital (94 cases), Blue Magma Residential (87 cases), Crown Bay Group (74 cases), and Onni Group (74 cases).

The companies that have filed evictions since the CDC eviction moratorium was announced also include affiliates of a number of large asset managers with trillions of dollars in assets combined, including The Carlyle Group, Eaton Vance, Prudential, UBS, JPMorgan, New York Life, Nuveen/TIAA-CREF, LaSalle Investment Management, Highland Capital, Angelo Gordon & Co, and AEW Capital Management.

A list of landlords that have filed evictions since the CDC moratorium was announced is below.

In some counties, eviction filings by private equity firms and other corporate landlords have accounted for the overwhelming majority of cases in recent weeks. For example, in DeKalb County, Georgia, large landlords filed at least 550 of the 656 eviction cases filed there last week (Sept 14-20).