Maricopa County, Arizona – Stunning new numbers from Maricopa County show the county is on pace to set a new record for evictions in 2024, likely exceeding 83,000 by the end of the year.
County courts received just over 6,500 eviction cases in November.
This is typical for this time of year, but overall eviction numbers are only getting worse.
Nearly 80,000 eviction cases have been filed in Maricopa County so far this year. This is on pace to break the record of just over 83,000 cases set in 2005.
Arizona has some of the strictest and quickest eviction laws in the nation.
Theoretically, you could be out within 18 days.
It’s not hard to find evicted people near an old homeless encampment called The Zone.
“I lived in the apartment for two years and had no problems. I took my mother with me. Unfortunately, my mother passed away and I had to ask one of the rental agent’s agents to help me. They kept in touch with the administrator. ” Two days before he was due to move in, he was faced with the worst time of his life because he had to catch up on plans that were 4 months away, so he refused to accept it. ” one man told us when we asked him. Don’t show your face.
Judge Anna Huberman has to order people removed from her courtroom almost every day, and has done so for more than a dozen years.
“Increasingly, we find ourselves evicting people within the same month if they miss their first payment,” she says.
There’s one thing she’s noticed that’s fairly new. That said, new complexes often evict people after short stays after their introductory offer expires.
“We’ve seen some cases recently where a tenant has hardly lived there for 23 months and then is sued for eviction. So these are brand new rentals, which is a little surprising. ” Huberman said.
The judge understands that businesses need to make money and it’s her job to follow the law, but it still breaks her heart to see someone lose their home.
“Just last week I heard from someone that she had to quit her job due to her disability. Her disability is still progressing and we are now displacing people who are unable to work and have nowhere to go. By the way,” she said.
The biggest piece of advice from the judge is to work with the landlord before the case goes to court.
