Evictions have resumed in Mecklenburg. What to know if you can’t pay rent.

Eviction hearings resume in Mecklenburg this week for the first time since mid-March, when North Carolina courts halted them and much of the state’s judicial activity to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Now, as courts resume proceedings and after the expiration of a three-week eviction filing ban Gov. Roy Cooper signed in late May, tenants unable to pay rent who have been previously shielded by a series of protections soon may find themselves in court.

But landlords, court officials and tenant advocates are hoping expanded mediation services will find out-of-court resolutions to settle unpaid rent payments to keep tenants in their homes.

Some 1,600 evictions have been filed in Mecklenburg since mid-March, according to court officials, who said that number changes daily as new cases are added or resolved before going before a judge.

It comes as affordable housing advocates say months of lost wages and jobs will create a wave of evictions across the country without rent relief and efforts to mitigate displacement.

“The COVID crisis came and hit renters in the pocket in the middle of what was already a national eviction crisis and housing affordability crisis,” said Maya Brennan, senior policy program manager at the Urban Institute.

“So, Charlotte, other cities, and suburban and rural communities already had a number of renters who could not figure out how they were going to get the money for the next month’s rent or to pay their arrears for the last month’s rent. And then it got worse.”

Rent assistance

Charlotte City Council directed more than $10 million the city received from the federal relief bill to rent and mortgage assistance.

Initial rent relief funds were approved for tenants of certain city-supported properties, including apartments that had received Housing Trust Fund dollars.

But council members later expanded the qualifications to renters earning up to 80% of the area median income, or $63,200 for a family of four, who have experienced a financial hardship directly related to COVID-19.

Tenants can apply for rental, mortgage and other assistance at rampclt.com.

Crisis Assistance Ministry, the longtime leader in rent and utilities help in Mecklenburg, has seen a substantial increase in demand for its services, said CEO Carol Hardison. The nonprofit is seeing between 100 and 200 clients daily, roughly double the caseload of a typical day last summer, she said.

More information about Crisis Assistance programs can be found at crisisassistance.org.

Duke Energy and Charlotte Water are still not disconnecting service for nonpayment, officials for both entities said.

Mediation encouraged

Mecklenburg court officials, tenant advocates and landlords have been working to encourage mediation, both to ease court backlog and decrease the number of renters displaced.

The city’s dispute settlement program, run through the Community Relations Committee, offers free mediation for landlords and tenants to reach a settlement over past due rent.

Kim Graham, executive director of the Greater Charlotte Apartment Association, said she is encouraging her members to explore mediation, calling it “a more humane and just environment for both the renter and the property owner” that also saves money in court fees and prevents tenants from having an eviction judgment on their record.

Hardison, of Crisis Assistance Ministry, called the coordinated effort by landlords, tenant groups and the courts to promote mediation unprecedented. Mediation can be done virtually or in person, and mediators can refer cases to rent relief funds.

Landlords and tenants interested in mediation are encouraged to call the dispute settlement program’s landlord tenant help line at 704-336-5330.

Some protections still in place

There is still a federal eviction moratorium for residents of federally subsidized rental units, as well as tenants who live in properties with federally-backed mortgages.

That includes many tenants who live in non-subsidized housing who likely don’t know if their landlord has a federally-backed mortgage to finance the property.

Tenants can search by ZIP code to see if their residence is included in the federal eviction moratorium. Landlords of these properties can begin filing evictions later this week but can’t remove tenants until late August.

This story was originally published July 20, 2020 at 2:06 PM.