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Multifamily Evictions, Large Owners, and Serial Filings: Findings from Metropolitan Atlanta

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Abstract

Evictions and eviction filings cause substantial harm to lower-income families and neighborhoods. We examine multifamily eviction filings in the five-county metropolitan Atlanta area with a rich data set of eviction filings, property characteristics, and ownership information. We find that eviction filings include many "serial filings," in which landlords file repeatedly on the same tenant. The literature suggests that serial filings are aimed less at removing the tenant and more at disciplining the tenant through state-sanctioned threat of removal. We analyze serial and nonserial filing rates at the property level, and the share of a property's filings that are serial filings (serial share). Regressions on building, location, and neighborhood characteristics reveal important factors associated with higher serial and nonserial filing rates and serial share. We then examine the owners of the largest number of multifamily properties in the region and identify those that exhibit high or low serial filing rates after controlling for building, neighborhood and location characteristics. We find that the largest owners and larger buildings tend to have high serial shares. We also find that, while properties in Black neighborhoods have higher nonserial filing rates, their serial shares are also higher than otherwise similar properties. A key result is that sales in the prior three years have a significant, nontrivial positive effect on the nonserial filing rate, suggesting that building sales are significant predictors of rising evictions. Finally, those few large owners that do have low serial filing shares tend to be located in neighborhoods that are significantly less Black than the average building. We discuss implications for policy and further research.

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... The use of an eviction filing does not necessarily result in a tenant leaving the home. For example, "serial evictions," which involve the filing of multiple evictions on the same household, can be used as a continuous threat and punishment for tenants (Immergluck, et al., 2019;Madden & Marcuse, 2016). Additionally, when tenants do vacate their homes as a result of an eviction, it is not always the result of a formal writ. ...
... We define evicting as lasting from the time the landlord informs the tenant that she is late on her rent until she either pays off her debt or leaves the unit-a process that can range from just a few days to a nearly perpetual cycle of arrearage. We find evidence that landlords serially file for eviction on the same tenants in the same units, with the goal not of removing them, but rather of collecting rent (see also Immergluck et al. 2019). Thus, eviction matters not just as a cause of involuntary mobility, but represents a fundamental aspect of the rental experience for poor families. ...
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