Maricopa County evictions on the rise

Evictions in Maricopa County are on the rise with the county experiencing its third-busiest month for eviction filings ever. For more on this, we welcomed Judge Anna Huberman, Presiding Justice of the Peace for Maricopa County.

The two busiest months for eviction filings were in August 2005, seeing 7,902 filings, and 7,699 in September 2023.

Eviction cases have been rising for the past two years. While not every case results in housing loss, it’s important for tenants to have a plan if they find themselves in trouble.

Many experts predicted there would be a rise in evictions during the pandemic. However, this was not the case until recently. A contributing factor to the rise in evictions has been Arizona’s housing shortage, which led to an increase in rent.

“Rent is very expensive. Even folks who can pay their rent live paycheck to paycheck, and any unexpected expense puts them in a situation where they can’t pay rent for one month, and that leads to eviction,” Judge Huberman said.

Missing one payment is enough cause for eviction, with the landlord required to give the tenant a five-day notice of the outstanding rent. If the rent is not paid, the landlord is able to terminate the lease and take the tenant to court.

The tenant is able to pay the outstanding rent after the five-day notice. The law allows tenants to pay until the judgment is signed, at which time the landlord will be required to reinstate the lease.

The continued rise in the cost of living in Arizona is skyrocketing, and it doesn’t seem like it will ease off.

“I don’t see it stopping any time soon, but I’d also like to think that at some point, it’ll reach a maximum point where it’ll have to stop,” Judge Huberman said.