Atlanta Apt. Co. Filed More Evictions, Hi Fees Than Any In Area Despite Fed Initiatives 2020-2021

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Last edited Sun Jan 2, 2022, 07:29 PM - Edit history (1)

- 'Throughout the pandemic, one Atlanta-area landlord has bombarded residents with eviction notices.' Washington Post, Jan. 2, 2022. - At the Brooks Crossing apartments, tenants have faced 427 eviction filings since April 2020, more than any other area building. They can’t afford an alternative. -

RIVERDALE, Ga.- During the first week of every month, the white sheets of paper show up, jammed behind doorknobs, laid on porch chairs or tables, dropped on concrete patios. Janahya Sugick, a nail technician & mother of three, received her first late notice in June 2020, after her hours had been cut and her paycheck had dwindled because of the pandemic. Soon after, her apt. complex filed for eviction. But even though she couldn’t immediately pay, Sugick was not evicted. Instead, she is regularly served eviction papers and then charged 100s of dollars in fees to avoid removal, in a way that she and other residents of the Brooks Crossing apartments, a 224-unit complex south of Atlanta, say has become commonplace.

Brooks Crossing has filed for eviction against its tenants more than any other landlord in the Atlanta area, a total of 427 times since April 2020. That equates to 1.9 eviction notices per unit there between April 2020 and early December 2021. The practice shows how some landlords during the pandemic have employed frequent threats of removal and charged tenants extra fees, even as government authorities were urging landlords to minimize hardship and keep people in their homes. Sugick faced 5 more eviction notices over the next year and a half. Over the past year, she received more than $2,000 in additional fees as a result of late rent payments, including a $72 court fee for each eviction notice.

“As soon as you pay, there’s just, like, little fees you still got to pay,” said Sugick, 33, referring to the penalties. “Then the next month, it’s like right there, and you’re right back in that cycle.”

In July, the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis announced an investigation into why Brooks Crossing’s management co., FL-based Ventron Mgmt., and several other real estate firms pursued evictions against tenants despite federal initiatives, particularly in areas where rents have sharply risen and state laws make it difficult for low-income renters to appeal evictions. The investigation is ongoing and no findings have been published. In March 2020, Congress passed a stimulus measure, the CARES Act, that temporarily banned landlords who receive federal housing subsidies from assessing late fees or pursuing eviction against tenants behind on their rent.

But during the 4-month ban, Ventron filed for eviction against Brooks Crossing residents 99 times, even as hundreds of competing Atlanta landlords paused eviction filings altogether during that time.

At the time the CARES Act moratorium was in place, Brooks Crossing had 14 tenants who were using federal housing vouchers. Amber Hobbs, a Ventron executive, said in an e-mail that the company “followed expert legal advice, which stated that we were in compliance with the CARES Act" and other bans.. Ventron manages 3 of the 10 Atlanta properties where tenants experienced the most eviction filings during the pandemic. Company executives did not respond to a request for comment about its rate of filings compared with other properties. Critics say landlords like Ventron should not have been so aggressive in filing for eviction given the pandemic.

With fast-rising rents, this Atlanta area is one of the few affordable places left for working-class residents. Sugick regularly drives 40 minutes to do nails in Sandy Springs, in the wealthier northern part of the area, but cannot afford to live there...https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/01/02/atlanta-apartment-evictions/
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- 'Mississippi aid program gave little help to renters but millions to a top law firm.' Wash Post, Oct. 1, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/09/30/mississippi-housing-eviction/
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- Atlanta community members rally in support of Ms. Juliet in front of her home. 'Stopping evictions in Atlanta. As evictions resume in GA, many people face displacement amid increasing gentrification. Here's how one Atlanta-area elder is standing up for her right to remain in her home.' AFSC, Nov. 5, 2021.
https://www.afsc.org/blogs/news-and-commentary/stopping-evictions-atlanta



- Georgia Renters Enjoy Few Protections as Landlords Seek To Evict. Pulitzer Center, Oct, 2020,
https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/georgia-renters-enjoy-few-protections-landlords-seek-evict