Metro Phoenix evictions rise amid housing crisis and extreme heat

Metro Phoenix eviction filings climbed in July, leaving many without a home as temperatures soared to records.

Last month, landlords filed to evict 7,903 times, according to the Maricopa County Justice Courts. That’s up 9% from June and 30% from July 2019, several months before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The region’s housing crisis isn’t improving, Arizona’s fast eviction process isn’t slowing down and federal rental assistance funds sent during the pandemic are pretty much gone. These rapid evictions, according to experts, are driving homelessness and contributing to the state’s staggering number of heat-related deaths.

The 1973 Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act is still in place today. “If you look at the details of it, it very much tilts towards landlords and against tenants, in my opinion,” Will Humble, Executive Director at The Arizona Public Health Association said.

Humble explained that under that act, if a tenant falls behind on payment, receives a five-day eviction notice and due in court in six days, depending on the court’s schedule, the tenant could be out of their apartment in less than 30 days.

“If that happens in June, July or August, that’s potentially lethal if you don’t have a Plan B,” Humble said.

Humble believes that a more balanced Landlord and Tenant Act like some other states have would protect Arizona tenants better, especially in the case of an eviction in the summer months. He hopes that the public is aware of this act from 1973 that he said favors landlords, and hopes that the Arizona Legislature will work to make changes in November.