Cleveland Fed research measures evictions during the COVID-19 crisis, finds filings have almost returned to prepandemic levels as temporary policies to protect renters begin to expire

Evictions are a serious risk for households facing job loss and economic upheaval during the COVID-19 pandemic, and temporary policies put in place to protect renters have begun to expire. In this report, Cleveland Fed researchers Rebecca Cowin, Hal Martin, and Clare Stevens explore how evictions are evolving in real time across 44 cities and counties and how state and local eviction regulations affect the trends in eviction filings as the pandemic crisis unfolds.

Average eviction filings plummeted across jurisdictions in late March and early April, both in places that implemented broad eviction bans and those that did not. Eviction filings remain low in places with hearing or filing bans and are gradually rising in places with no bans.

“Eviction filings tend to surge after temporary policies expire much more in places that enacted both filing bans and hearing bans than those that enacted just hearing bans while allowing filings to continue,” say the researchers. “The latest data indicates eviction filings are just 3 percent below their prior-year levels in places with no bans.”

Read more: Measuring Evictions during the COVID-19 Crisis

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that along with the Board of Governors in Washington DC comprise the Federal Reserve System. Part of the US central bank, the Cleveland Fed participates in the formulation of our nation’s monetary policy, supervises banking organizations, provides payment and other services to financial institutions and to the US Treasury, and performs many activities that support Federal Reserve operations System-wide. In addition, the Bank supports the well-being of communities across the Fourth Federal Reserve District through a wide array of research, outreach, and educational activities.

The Cleveland Fed, with branches in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, serves an area that comprises Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia.

Media contact

Doug Campbell, doug.campbell@clev.frb.org, 513.218.1892