'Tidal wave' of evictions threatens tenants in Durham

The number of eviction cases is rising in Durham. Legal advisers call it a 'tidal wave' effect from the pandemic and the end of the state moratorium on evictions.

Posted 11:49 p.m. Sep 28, 2020 — Updated 1:12 p.m. Sep 29, 2020

Lora Lavigne

, WRAL reporter

DURHAM, N.C. — The number of eviction cases is rising in Durham. Legal advisers call it a ‘tidal wave’ effect from the pandemic and the end of the state moratorium on evictions.

Funding for the city’s Eviction Diversion Program supports about 70 tenants a month. Now that various legal protections have lifted, attorneys are seeing three times the number of cases they can handle.

The public health crisis is threatening to displace thousands of Durham residents. "In August, we opened 185 files and as of last Thursday we opened 185 in September, and September is not over. So we’re currently running at 300% of our capacity," said Peter Gilbert, the Project Director of Durham's Eviction Diversion Program Legal Aid NC.

Gilbert states 10% of the roughly 60,000 tenants in Durham have struggled to pay rent. Even with additional resources, the current need is far from being met.

“We’ve already had a million dollars, for example, in Durham in emergency rental relief through the CARES Act. Even if we got two or three million dollars more it’s not going to be enough," he added.

New groups, like Bull City Tenants United, are working to educate people about resources and their rights to prevent illegal evictions.

“Our long term vision is to bring tenants together to build tenant power in Durham that changes the landscape and add a bit more of a lasting wave than just this individual crisis," said Alex Prolman, an organizer of Bull City Tenants United.

Even students from Duke are trying to get creative online to increase contributions with a mutual aid group that’s providing financial support.

“We have probably seen a 10-15% increase in requests related to rent. These numbers are daunting and it’s reflected in the number of requests we’re receiving," said Jamal Burns, a member of Duke Mutual Aid.

The CDC’s moratorium is in effect until the end of the year, but there are many stipulations that will not prevent eviction cases. Anyone in need of emergency rental or legal assistance, should reach out to the eviction diversion program now, before it’s too late.