Eviction filings in Cincinnati have now reached pre-pandemic levels, according to new data from Eviction Lab, a team of researchers at Princeton University.
The data, which tracks eviction filings from 2020 to 2024, shows there were 1,280 in February 2024, surpassing the same number in January 2020: 1,143.
An eviction petition is a legal document that a landlord files with the court to remove a tenant from the rented premises, usually for failure to pay rent.
While eviction filings are not necessarily indicative of people being evicted, many Cincinnatians are being squeezed by rising rents and stagnant wages, said Nick DiNardo, chief counsel at the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati.
“Wages are rising, but rents are rising much faster than wages in Cincinnati,” DiNardo said.
Eviction filings are increasing as COVID-era rental assistance runs out
While rents have risen since 2020 due to a number of factors, including inflation and potential homeowners staying renters longer due to high home prices, COVID-19 pandemic-era rental assistance has disappeared, DiNardo said.
“There was a lot of money available for rental assistance during COVID,” as people lost their income during the pandemic, DiNardo said. “Now that we’re post-COVID, we’re back to reality, which isn’t there, but there’s very little housing benefit.”
A bill that Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law in 2022 prevented Ohio cities from implementing rent control measures for landlords.
Building with the highest number of eviction filings located in Mount Airy
Researchers at the Eviction Lab ranked the top 100 eviction hotspots in Cincinnati by buildings. Their analysis found that the landlords on this list alone were responsible for 25% of all eviction filings in the city.
The landlord with the most eviction filings was in Mount Airy, with 265 eviction filings in the building.
A landlord in Westwood has filed the second-highest number of eviction filings per building at 133.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Data shows eviction filings have risen to pre-pandemic levels