Maricopa County, Arizona – Although the number of evictions decreased from August to September, the total number of evictions in 2024 is still on pace to exceed the record of 83,687 set in 2005.
7,537 lawsuits were filed in September, compared to 7,957 in August.
A total of 65,651 eviction cases were filed between January and September of this year, according to data from the Maricopa County Justice Court.
This beat the previous record set in 2006 for the first quarter of this year by about 3,000.
Scott Davis, public information officer for the Court of Justice, said eviction cases typically begin to decline in the fall.
Here's why evictions are increasing in the US
Rising rents are hitting many people hard, leading to more evictions. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, in more than half of the country, workers cannot afford to rent a two-bedroom apartment while working a full-time job. There's more to FOX's Joy Addison.
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January 2024 was the first month in county history that the number of eviction filings exceeded 8,000.
Only in the last five months in Maricopa County's history have the number of evictions exceeded 7,900, three of which occurred in 2024.
Overall application numbers fell to just 37,742 in 2020, but rose again in 2023 when coronavirus restrictions on landlords were lifted.
Maricopa County's worst year was 2005, with a total of 83,687 evictions.
In 2023, there were 83,157 people.
Rising rents, financial hardship, and population growth are the biggest contributors to this growing problem.
