Metro Phoenix eviction actions climbed in April. Here's why and who is losing their homes

Catherine Reagor, Arizona Republic
·1 min read
A fallen eviction notice at the Biltmore on the Lake apartment complex in Phoenix on March 21, 2023.

Metro Phoenix landlords moved to evict hundreds more renters in April than March.

Last month, 6,340 eviction actions were filed, according to the Maricopa County Justice Courts. That’s up from 5,823 in March.

Valley eviction filings dropped during pandemic moratoriums but have been climbing most months since last summer.

Rapidly rising rents in 2021 and the first half of last year drove the cost of an apartment out of reach for many Phoenix-area tenants.

Seniors, veterans and single moms are some of the groups of renters hit the hardest, say housing advocates.

“While April’s (eviction) filing data is not record-breaking, it is in line with what we have been seeing for the past eight to nine months,” said Scott Davis, Maricopa County Justice Courts spokesperson. “Landlords are moving to evict more often than they did during the pandemic and in the 10 years prior.”

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The per capita eviction rate climbed to about 115 eviction filings per 10,000 metro-Phoenix renter households in January, an Arizona Republic analysis shows.

In the five years before the COVID-19 pandemic, the highest rate was about 105 filings per 10,000 renter households, in August and October 2019.

"It used to be family emergencies driving evictions, but now high rents are the family emergency," said Pamela Bridge, director of litigation and advocacy at Community Legal Services.

If the trend continues, the number of Maricopa County eviction filings for the year could approach 78,000, about the population of Flagstaff.

Metro Phoenix eviction filings hit a record during the Great Recession.

Coverage of housing insecurity on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Arizona Community Foundation.

Kunle Falayi contributed to this story.

Reach the reporter at catherine.reagor@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8040. Follow her on Twitter @CatherineReagor.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Metro Phoenix eviction actions climbed in April. Here's why