How crime-free housing policies drive evictions in Arizona

So-called “crime-free” housing policies are fueling evictions across Arizona, often without police involvement, criminal charges or tenant protections.

Key findings in the two-part series show landlords can evict tenants for alleged criminal activity without an arrest or investigation. These policies disproportionately affect Black and low-income renters. Police-run landlord trainings embed racial stereotypes and flawed assumptions about crime and safety.

Despite promises to reduce crime, the data shows no crime reduction, only more evictions. Similar policies are on the rise across Arizona.

Hannah Dreyfus, an investigative reporter with “The Arizona Republic” and azcentral.com, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the findings.

The crime-free lease addendum is most Arizona lease agreements according to Dreyfus, but is often unnoticed or given much thought by those signing. “The idea behind is to disincentivize tenants from getting involved with crime, and most tenants when they sign, their saying I have no intention to do crime in this apartment, no problem. I’ll sign on the dotted line,” Dreyfus said.

“What they don’t realize is that what it actually does is it enables landlords to expand the definition of what they consider crime, so that things that wouldn’t necessarily fall under that category could all of a sudden be subject to eviction.”

What landlords can define as criminal activity is very broad and can be for actions not even done by the tenant themselves. “They give very lax and broad definitions for what could fall under the category of criminal activity,” Dreyfus said. “In fact, people become responsible not only for their own behavior but for the behavior of guests or affiliated persons on the property.”

“A tenant is still held responsible for activities that take place by guests even if they don’t know about it or could not have reasonably prevented it.”