This document discusses housing policies and the debate around evictions. It summarizes data showing that evictions are relatively rare in Seattle and other cities, with less than 1% of rental households being evicted. While advocates claim evictions are a major cause of homelessness, data shows only 11% of homeless individuals cited eviction as the primary reason for their homelessness. The document argues for policies that increase housing supply to reduce costs and notes that evictions are sometimes necessary, not a business model for landlords. It calls for using data-driven narratives and solutions that incentivize construction and provide direct rent assistance.

1. Affordable Housing: Developing
Policies that Encourage Housing
Without Trampling on Private
Property Rights
The Case of Eviction

2. About Seattle For Growth
Seattle For Growth is a 501(c) 4 non-profit advocacy
organization that supports policies to create more housing of
all kinds in all neighborhoods and all corners of the state for
people of all levels of income. Created in 2013, Seattle For
Growth is based in Seattle with statewide interest in housing
issues and sustainable growth. Funding for our work is from
private sources including developers, builders, rental
management companies, and individuals.

3. The Housing Problem
• When did the housing crisis start?
• How do we measure the housing crisis?
• How do we know when we’ve solved the crisis?
• There is no “crisis” if we can’t measure it
• If we’re worried about price, we know more
supply will solve it
• The answer to housing price problems is more
housing
• Inflation, not developers or landlords, is the
enemy of poor people

4. The Eviction “Crisis”
• Homeless Advocates: "America Is Experiencing an Eviction
Epidemic”
• County epidemiologist links evictions to suicide
• “Evictions are a leading cause of homelessness in Washington
state”
• One in 11 black residents were evicted from the Seattle area
since 2004, researchers say
• Dayton’s eviction rate among highest in Midwest
• Cincinnati among top 10 cities for evictions, and cycle of
poverty and homelessness can follow

5. Losing Home or Losing Perspective?
• Fall of 2018: Losing Home Report published by the City
of Seattle’s Women’s Commission
• Evictions are a leading cause of homelessness and an
“epidemic”
• January 2019: Legislation introduced to change tenant
landlord law, SB 5600
• Tech companies weigh in to debate
• February 2019: Disclosure request completed for data
• We publish and share Losing Perspective as a response
• Legislature passes SB 5600

6. Seattle Evictions in 2017
Rental Households in Seattle*
168,295
Number of eviction actions filed
1,218 (0.7 percent)
Actual evictions
585 (0.3 percent)
Less than half of one percent of the rental
households were actually removed from their
unit.
*United States Census 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates

7. Seattle Evictions in 2017
Again, only a judge’s order can complete an eviction. Landlords can’t evict a person
on their own. But who are the landlords that evict the most tenants? Private
landlords initiated a majority of the actions, but the Low Income Housing Institute
(67) and the Seattle Housing Authority (117) had the most eviction actions as
landlords.
Total Non-
Profit/SHA
filings
Percent
of total
filings
Number of
tenants
vacated?
Number
ousted by
Sheriff?
Percent of
total ousted
by Sheriff?
294 24% 221 134 31%
According to the Seattle Housing Authority 51 of the filings resulted in a complete tenant
removal in 2017 and in 2018 they had less than 30.

8. Leading Cause of Homelessness?
“Approximately 21% of survey respondents
indicated that issues related to housing affordability
were the primary conditions leading to their
homelessness, including eviction (11%), inability to
afford a rent increase (6%), family or friend could
no longer afford to let them stay (2%), and
foreclosure (2%).”
Seattle/King County Count Us In report 2018 (point
in time count of homeless people)

9. Hamilton County, Ohio
• The Cincinnati Project uses the same
methodology as Seattle did to set the county’s
rate of eviction at 8.7 percent, higher than the
average across the country of 6.3 percent.
• “The United States is amidst an eviction
epidemic—millions of families are evicted each
year.”
• Four years of eviction filings – not actual
evictions, an involuntary removal from a unit –
and dividing by four. This gives them an average
number of evictions totaling 12,439 annually.

10. Hamilton County, Ohio
• There are 379,233 units of housing in
Hamilton County with about 58 percent
occupied by owners, not renters.
• That means the actual number of renter
households is about 159,000
• The eviction filing rate was 7.8 percent.
• Half of the filings were dismissed (49.9
percent),
• So the eviction rate is more like 3.9 percent

11. Hamilton County, Ohio
Is 3.9 percent of rental households being evicted
a crisis?
• There are legitimate reasons to evict (people
generally agree with this)
• Eviction is an expensive and uncertain process
• Tenant landlord law is complicated and
confusing
• Eviction is a last resort, not a business model

13. Fighting Back
• Define the problem.
• Gather the best data.
• Evictions are sometimes necessary and people
know and believe this.
• Generally, evictions are rare.
• Tell stories about all the late payments
accepted, work outs, and resolved problems
that mean property owners did not have to
evict a household.

14. The Message
• Fairness – People want to know that tenants are
being treated fairly. But people also understand
renting private property is a risk.
• Supply – When there is lots of housing prices go
down; inflation, not eviction is the enemy of poor
people.
• Efficiency – When someone is struggling to pay
rent next month, they need cash assistance now,
not a subsidized unit someday.

15. The Goal
• Today – Tell what the real story is over and over
and over again before the other side releases a
“report.” Use the best available data and share
private data when possible.
• Tomorrow – Propose solutions like removing
barriers to permitting and construction and cash
benefits for people who need help with rent.
• Narrative – Tell a better story about what
operating and managing housing is really like.
Tenants are customers, not prisoners.

16. Final Words: Risk and Reward
• Screening – Screening is essential to a successful
tenancy;
• Discrimination – People who rent property aren’t
any more racist or classist than the general
population;
• Evictions – Evictions happen for many reasons,
often they aren’t about rent at all; and
• Risk Reduction – If the government wants
property owners to increase their risks, they need
to offset those risks through compensation or
sharing the risk