Eviction filings are way down in Indiana, mostly due to moratoriums.
Since January 2020, there have been 52,686 fewer (-21%) total eviction filings in Indiana than typical; eviction moratoriums were mostly responsible.
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the State of Indiana imposed an eviction moratorium under Executive Order 20-06 between March 19th and August 14th of 2020. Within this period, the CARES Act also imposed additional Federal restrictions on evictions. During these moratoriums, there were 92% fewer evictions filed in Indiana than typical.
After the State and CARES Act moratoriums expired, the CDC imposed a moratorium on evictions from September 4th, 2020 to August 26, 2021 (when it was ended by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling). During the period of the CDC moratorium, there were 32% fewer evictions filed in Indiana than typical.
Unsurprisingly, following the end of all State and Federal pandemic-related moratoriums, eviction filings in Indiana rose again. Surprisingly, eviction filing rates rose only to pre-pandemic levels without a significant over-correction to compensate for eviction filings prevented during the moratoriums. At least not statewide.
Figure 1 below shows average weekly eviction filings in Indiana since 2020 grouped by moratorium periods compared with baseline (typical) averages derived from 2017-2019.
Since January 2020, there have been a total of 195,001 evictions filed in Indiana, which is 52,686 fewer (-21%) than the 247,687 which would have been typical during this period based on historical weekly rates between 2017-2019. Figure 2 below shows total evictions compared with the baseline (typical) amount.
What this means is that at the statewide level, the moratoriums did more than simply delay eviction filings during the pandemic. Evictions prevented during the pandemic were (at least at the aggregate level and for now) permanent. While the rate of eviction filings in Indiana has mostly now returned to pre-pandemic levels, there were roughly 52,600 Hoosier renters who have benefited long-term from the moratoriums. This is also likely an undercount, as eviction filing rates generally rise during recessions (i.e. are higher than baseline). While this is good news for Hoosier renters overall, not everyone has benefited equally since the end of the moratoriums.
For some counties, eviction filing rates have skyrocketed since moratoriums were lifted.
While total eviction filings statewide in Indiana are down 21% since January 2020, the effects are far from being evenly distributed across Indiana. When you begin to look at county-level data, the results are alarming. Here are a few of the extreme outliers as examples.
Marion County saw the single largest REDUCTION in total number of eviction filings since 2020 with 26,961 fewer eviction filings than baseline (71,946 instead of 98,907) over this time. This was a 27% reduction, or better than the statewide reduction of 21%.
Pike County saw the single largest PERCENTAGE REDUCTION in total number of eviction filings since 2020 with 37 fewer eviction filings than baseline (47 instead of 84) over this time. This was a 44% reduction, or better than the statewide reduction of 21%.
Lake County saw the single largest INCREASE in total number of eviction filings since 2020 with 4,983 more eviction filings than baseline (13,271 instead of 8,288) over this time. This was a 60% increase (!!), or worse than the statewide average reduction of 21%.
Jefferson County saw the single largest PERCENTAGE INCREASE in total number of eviction filings since 2020 with 698 more eviction filings than baseline (719 instead of 21) over this time. This was a 3,324% increase (!!), far worse than the statewide reduction of 21%.
In Figure 3 below you can find total eviction filings in Indiana counties since January 2020 compared with baseline (typical) totals based on historical weekly rates from 2017-2019. Click on the image to enlarge.
While eviction filings are way down statewide overall, there is a huge disparity across Indiana counties. While renters in many counties have benefited from a significant decrease in eviction filings, roughly a third of counties have had more eviction filings since the pandemic began than was typical. On the extreme end, there are 13 counties in Indiana for which there have been more than DOUBLE the number of eviction filings since 2020 than typical. If it feels like many more are suffering from evictions than usual in your county, that may be the case.
To learn more about eviction data please visit the Eviction Lab, where they have an excellent interactive map.