Arizona eviction rate drops below pre-pandemic levels although rent prices skyrocket

Arizona eviction rate drops below pre-pandemic levels

The Phoenix housing market remains one of the hottest in the nation, but for those who rent, the rising cost of rent is putting them at a disadvantage.

PHOENIX - The Phoenix housing market remains one of the hottest in the nation, but for those who rent, the rising cost of rent is putting them at a disadvantage.

The federal moratorium on evictions ended in August and some experts were predicting a tidal wave of evictions shortly after.

In Arizona, evictions are on the decline, and experts are attributing part of the promising numbers to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the pandemic, eviction numbers weren’t high due to the federal eviction moratorium, but as of Dec. 6, evictions are actually dropping even lower than pre-pandemic levels.

A graph from Maricopa County Justice Courts shows evictions are declining substantially in recent months.

According to the Arizona Multihousing Association (AMA), a big reason for this is communication. They say tenants learned during the pandemic that they could work with their landlords about their hardships and get rental assistance.

The numbers are promising, AMA says, however, work still needs to be done in getting people the help they need.

Across Arizona, only 20% of the rental assistance funds have been used.