No-Cause evictions
why are landlords evicting tenants?
Use this tool to see the types of eviction cases landlords are filing over time.
Termination of Tenancy cases ("no-cause" evictions) empower landlords to evict arbitrarily and render many tenants virtually defenseless against displacement.
No-cause eviction cases are not eligible for the COVID Emergency Rent Assistance (CERA) program and were not covered by the federal eviction moratorium.
HOW TO USE THIS TOOL
Select the data you want to see on the graph, pie chart, and statistic.
Select Timespan: Use the drop-down menu to view data for a specific time period.
Select Metric: Use the drop-down menu to view eviction filings, judgments, or orders of eviction (see definitions under LEGAL JARGON).
TO START OVER, REFRESH THE PAGE.
UNDERSTANDING THE DATA
No-cause evictions increased during the pandemic, leaving 1 in 4 tenants who faced eviction without protection.
State law does not require landlords to give a reason for evicting tenants with no lease or month-to-month leases.
These are referred to as Termination of Tenancy, or No-Cause evictions (see definition under LEGAL JARGON).
During the pandemic, no-cause evictions were not covered by the CDC moratorium and could not be prevented through the provision of rental assistance. They provide a legal loophole for landlords who elect not to participate in the CERA program and those seeking higher paying tenants amid the tightening pandemic-era housing market.
Because of the lack of protections for tenants facing no-cause eviction, termination of tenancy cases closed during the pandemic were far more likely than nonpayment of rent cases to result in a judgment.
Legal jargon
Termination of Tenancy (no-cause evictions): An action a landlord takes to end a rental agreement with a tenant. Termination cases are sometimes called “no cause” evictions because a landlord does not have to give a specific or substantive cause (“just cause”) for terminating a tenancy, though a landlord cannot terminate a fixed-term (e.g., one year) tenancy unless a tenant violates a lease term. Tenants with periodic (e.g., month-to-month) or “at will” (e.g., verbal, implied consent) tenancies must be given a 30-day notice.
Eviction Filing: When a landlord (plaintiff) files a complaint to bring an eviction lawsuit against a tenant (defendant). An eviction filing can have long-term consequences for tenants' housing stability, regardless of what happens in the case.
Judgment: The court’s decision in an eviction case. A judgment of possession entered for a landlord (against a tenant) means a landlord can recover possession of a property and file an order of eviction if a tenant does not pay the amount due (in nonpayment cases) or move out by a set date. Judgments almost always favor landlords, dispossess tenants, and show up on tenants' housing records for years.
Order of Eviction (Bailiff Eviction): A court document filed by a landlord and signed by a judge after the court has entered a judgment of possession for a landlord. The order gives a court officer or bailiff the authority to physically remove the tenant and remove their belongings from the rental property. Bailiff evictions are often traumatic events where tenants’ belongings (e.g., furniture, clothes, medicine, toys) are thrown into a dumpster and they are forcibly unhoused.
