Wichita renters face looming eviction after $600 unemployment, federal ban expire
When Michael Martinez came home from work one day in late July, he saw the notice from his landlord: an initial court date in one week for eviction from his home.
Now, Martinez has until Aug. 11 to come up with around $3,000 in back payment of rent or he won’t be able to stay in the south Wichita trailer park home where he lives with his wife. He’s been searching for assistance programs in the area that might be able to help, but hasn’t found one yet that will work for him.
“We knew we were behind on rent,” Martinez said. “But there was nothing I could do about it.”
Martinez, 49, kept his job with towing company Arrow Wrecker Service throughout the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. But business was slow and he makes most of his paycheck off commission. It wasn’t enough to cover rent, food and other bills. His check was usually $300 to $400 a week, Martinez said.
Service providers across Wichita are raising the alarm that a growing number of tenants face eviction in the coming months, particularly by the end of August. The concern comes as two pieces of the CARES Act expire: the federal moratorium on evictions expired July 24 and the extra $600 in unemployment benefits expired July 25 in Kansas.
The future of extra unemployment benefits during the pandemic has been in doubt as Congress debates further assistance. The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives wants to continue the $600 per week plan, but the Republican-controlled Senate and the White House do not want to extend the payments. Instead, Republicans proposed a new stimulus package that would pay laid-off workers an extra $200 a week until states can determine how to provide 70% of pre-pandemic wages to laid-off workers. The legislation is likely to include a second round of $1,200 stimulus checks as well.
A state moratorium on evictions in Kansas expired at the end of May.
The moratoriums made a big difference in the number of evictions early on during the pandemic, said Steve Minson, a staff attorney in Wichita with Kansas Legal Services. The organization offers legal defense, including for evictions, for people who may not be able to afford a lawyer.
Eviction filings were down significantly in Sedgwick County even after the statewide moratorium expired, Minson said, because the federal ban was still in place. However, he began to see an increase in eviction filings by late July and is now getting referrals for clients again.
Minson said evictions are still below the pace of filings in pre-pandemic months. He doesn’t think it will stay that way for long, though.
“Unless we get a new moratorium, I think it’s going to easily exceed those numbers in the next few weeks,” he said of the local eviction filings.
In July, landlords filed 468 eviction cases in Sedgwick County, court records show. The majority of cases were for eviction for non-payment of rent but include a handful of other scenarios as well.
In comparison, landlords filed 518 eviction cases in Sedgwick County in July 2019, according to court records. In April 2020, when both federal and state eviction moratoriums were in place, just 24 evictions were filed by landlords in Sedgwick County. At that time, the court was also closed to all but essential business.
The number of eviction filings in Sedgwick County jumped from May to June this summer, from 61 evictions filed in May to 425 evictions filed in June, after the Kansas eviction moratorium ended.
Wichita service providers see uptick in calls for emergency assistance
In addition to the state and federal eviction bans, other legislation helped tenants cover the cost of rent or utilities when they were out of work, or had their income cut, in March and April, the early phases of the coronavirus pandemic.
The $1,200 stimulus checks and the extra $600 in unemployment benefits aided people who were struggling with layoffs or furloughs to cover their bills, said George Dinkel, executive director of the Center of Hope in Wichita, an organization offering emergency rental and utility assistance. The number of people seeking assistance at the Center of Hope dropped off in April and May because of it, he said.
The picture now is different.
“Now it’s starting to pick up tremendously,” Dinkel said. “We’re as busy as we’ve ever been, probably more busy.”
The Center is still getting a handle on the increase and has brought on more volunteers to help meet the need, Dinkel said. They’re getting calls from people who were concerned they could not pay August rent because of the loss of extra unemployment benefits.
Without the additional benefits, the average weekly unemployment check was $398.67 in the first quarter of 2020 in Kansas, the most recent quarter available, according to state unemployment insurance data from the U.S. Department of Labor.
The median rent price in Wichita is $850, according to estimates from Zillow, which tracks rent prices across the country.
“Clearly it’s a concern for a lot of people,” Dinkel said.
Who is most at risk of facing eviction in Kansas?
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey shows which communities in Kansas could potentially be most at risk for upcoming evictions. The most recent data was collected between July 16 and July 21.
For example, around 28% of Asian renters in Kansas surveyed did not pay rent in June, according to the Census Bureau.
Nearly 25% of Hispanic or Latino renters in Kansas did not pay rent in June, according to the Census data. About 19% of Hispanic or Latino renters occupied their units without rent in June. This could be because rent was deferred or the landlord and tenant worked on a payment plan.
Of white renters in Kansas, 10% did not pay rent in June and 7% occupied their units without rent.
Just under 2% of Black renters in Kansas did not pay rent in June and almost 2% of Black renters in Kansas occupied their units without rent, all according to the Census Bureau figures.
However, survey results for the same week in July also showed 55% of Black renters in Kansas had “no confidence” that they could pay August rent.
Even if some renters receive additional unemployment assistance, some people, like Martinez, could continue to struggle. He was employed throughout the pandemic, not receiving any unemployment benefits, and yet still struggled to make rent because of the drop-off in activity during the stay-at-home order. Some businesses still aren’t seeing the same economic activity even after the stay-at-home orders were lifted.
Martinez left his job with the towing company in early July, thinking he was about to get a different job as a truck driver that would bring a more-steady income. He has a commercial driver’s license, or CDL, but ended up not getting the job because of a past accident on his record.
Now he’s left looking for new work in the same COVID-19 economy when so many others continue to search for stable employment. In the meantime, he’s filed for unemployment and hopes to receive it.
Need help with rent or utilities? Multiple places to turn
The Center of Hope is just one of a handful of local organizations offering emergency assistance and other services to those in need. The Wichita Sedgwick County Community Action Partnership also offers help with rent payments, and provides individual case management to help people find work.
The Community Action Partnership is not new to Wichita, but the emergency rental assistance program was established when COVID-19 hit. It works within the Housing and Community Services department of the city of Wichita, making use of funding from the CARES Act.
The program will likely be available for another one or two years, said Na’shell Williams, program manager for WSCCAP. Participants need to bring documentation to show their income has been impacted by the coronavirus crisis in order to receive assistance.
Williams said she’s seen “a major increase in people needing assistance” since late March. In April, when WSCCAP started offering emergency assistance, it saw 147 applicants within the first week, Williams said.
Now, she’s seeing an average of just under 200 applicants every two weeks. The majority of people she works with through the program are on the verge of being evicted, Williams said.
At the same time, she does see a lot of landlords work with tenants to establish payment plans.
“Most of these people are very new to this,” Williams said. “They never thought they would be in this situation.”
People are most worried about where they will go if they are evicted, Williams said.
Wichita shelters coordinate if need arises for emergency housing
The Salvation Army homeless shelter near downtown Wichita is one option if people are in need of emergency shelter. The organization operates a 28-bed shelter and the length of a typical stay is around 30 days, said Jami Scott, director of the Homeless Services Department with the Salvation Army.
Scott said the shelter has not yet seen an increase in people seeking a place to stay. However, she’s anticipating that to change in the coming month. She’s recently seen an uptick in calls to the shelter from tenants who are worried about being evicted in August or September.
On those calls, Scott said, the shelter staff can try to help prevent evictions by referring the callers to other service providers in the community that can offer rental assistance. However, the shelter can’t take people in unless they have to leave their home that day or are already without housing.
“I think we will see our numbers go up,” Scott said. “Unfortunately, our bed space can’t go up.”
In the event of more people seeking emergency shelter, it’s important for the Salvation Army and other shelters in the Wichita area to work together, Scott said, and make referrals.
Matt Lowe, shelter supervisor at St. Anthony Family Shelter with the Catholic Charities, agreed that it’s important for organizations to collaborate in times of high need. Lowe refers callers to the Center of Hope or the United Way of the Plains, which can also help in emergency rental assistance.
While Lowe said he has not seen more people at the shelter yet, they’re ready to work within the continuum of care in the community when needs are high.
As for Martinez, he said he wants to stay in Wichita, but isn’t sure if he’ll be able to. He moved here last August from his hometown of Lakin, more than 200 miles west of Wichita in rural Kansas. He wanted a change of pace and scenery in life, and thought he’d find better work prospects in Wichita.
However, if he isn’t able to receive assistance before his Aug. 11 court date, he might have to consider moving back home, where he can stay with family until he finds a new job.
In the meantime, he’s exploring all options and continues to seek assistance, he said.
“It’s been rough. It’s the first time ever I’ve had to go to a food bank,” Martinez said. “I’ve never had to do that before.”
Contributing: Amy Renee Leiker of The Wichita Eagle
