KMUW | By Celia Hack
Landlords, tenants and housing assistance nonprofits say inflation, rising rents and the end of pandemic assistance contributed to the increase in filings.
Khanh Kim Nguyen, a local landlord, and three of her tenants were in Sedgwick County eviction court on the morning of Aug. 8.
Each tenant was late on rent or hadn’t paid the full amount they owed, Nguyen said. With the cost of insurance and property taxes rising on the dozens of units she owns, Nguyen said she can’t hold back on filing for eviction.
“We don’t want someone (to be) homeless,” Nguyen said. “But we have to do (it) because we cannot wait.”
Nguyen said she’s had to undertake more and more evictions since 2021, a trend that matches county numbers. Evictions filed each year in Sedgwick County have risen steadily since a low in 2020, when an eviction moratorium was in place. The filings surpassed pre-pandemic numbers in 2022 and hit a five-year high in 2023 of 5,863.
The data is pulled from forcible detainers cases filed in Sedgwick County District Court.
Landlords, tenants, eviction lawyers and nonprofits working in rental assistance attribute the increase in filings to a variety of causes, from inflation to rising rents to the expiration of COVID rental assistance.
“There is a huge need out there, and it has definitely escalated over compared to what it has been,” said George Dinkel, the executive director of the Center of Hope, a nonprofit that provides rental and utility assistance.
He estimated his agency received about 30% more requests for assistance from 2020 to 2024.
Eviction filings by landlords do not necessarily result in the tenant’s ouster. A judge could rule against the eviction, or a tenant could pay rent, causing the landlord to stop seeking possession of the property.
At the Sedgwick County Courthouse in August, Nguyen said she worked out agreements with all three tenants to give them one to two more weeks to pay. If they cannot pay, the tenants can use the time to find a new place to live, she said.
Are rising rents to blame?
Some working in the nonprofit sector say rent increases in Wichita played a role in the growing number of eviction filings.
The Urban League recently began offering an eviction prevention workshop, and residents around the city have started calling to ask for housing assistance.
“There was an individual that I was talking to that was kind of homeless, sleeping in their car,” said Tisha Neloms, the Urban League’s housing coordinator and program navigator. “And they said that their rent just kept going up, and it went up one last time to where they just couldn't pay their rent because their rent was more than what they were bringing in.”
Dinkel has also observed rent increases that shock families living on fixed incomes.
“They only make like, $900 a month, and we've seen their rents increase from like $300 and $400 a month to $500 and $600 a month,” Dinkel said. “... It really is putting some significant constraints on their income.”
Steve Minson is a lawyer with Kansas Legal Services, where he often works with tenants. He said in recent years, he’s heard from tenants who face rent increases when they go to renew their leases.
“I got people that say, ‘I can't pay. What am I going to do? Is this legal?’ And the answer often is, ‘Yeah, if the notice of increase was given properly, it’s legal and binding,’” Minson said. “And if you can't pay it, you're going to have to go before you get an eviction. And some people don't have a place to go, and so they end up hanging on until the eviction is filed.”
From 2022 to 2023, rents in multifamily apartment complexes in Wichita increased 10%, according to a report by NAI Martens, a local commercial real estate firm. And rents increased the most in Class C apartments, the oldest and typically cheapest units.
NAI Martens Senior Vice President Jeff Englert, an author of the report, said that could have played a role in rising evictions.
“Since I'm expecting a lower (rent) increase in the Class C market over this next year, hopefully that'll lead to maybe a downward trend in the evictions,” Englert said.
For her part, Nguyen said she doesn’t typically increase rent for long-term tenants because she knows they can’t afford it. She does say she typically increases rent when bringing on a new tenant.
Inflation, personal crises and the end of COVID assistance
Nguyen said inflation has had an outsized impact on her business and eviction filings. Dinkel said he also hears from tenants squeezed by high costs like gas and car payments.
Food prices in the U.S. increased 5.8% from 2022 to 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Gas prices in Kansas decreased from 2022 to 2023 but are still 30% higher than they were in 2019.
Often, Nguyen said, tenants facing the increased price of groceries and other necessites have less leftover in their budget and can only afford part of the rent. After two to three months of insufficient rent payments, she typically files for eviction.
Other times, a tenant’s personal crisis can be a precursor to eviction, Nguyen said.
“Some tenant(s) tell me, ‘OK, my business right now, it closed down. I can find another job,’” Nguyen said. “We cannot wait one or two months to find another job. So, eviction…”
Shanna Jones was living in a $400 a month studio apartment near Hydraulic and I-135 last year. Jones said she was struggling with depression and anxiety last winter after several people close to her died. She said she forgot to pay rent, causing late fees to pile up. Soon, her disability check could not cover what she owed.
The process server came to Jones’ door in January to serve her the eviction and change the locks.
Jones said she felt “scared, embarrassed, ashamed (and) lonely” when the server told her she had to leave. There aren’t many shelters just for single women in Wichita, so her housing is less than secure. Sometimes she stays at hotels or with friends; sometimes she sleeps outside.
Her mental health took a hit.
“I went to the crisis center, probably twice,” Jones said. “I went to the hospital, I think maybe twice since all this … having a nervous breakdown, anxiety and stuff.”
Jones has since connected with COMCARE and Mental Health America of South Central Kansas, which provide her with medication, therapy and some transportation assistance. Jones said her mental health is improving, but she’s still struggling to find a new place to stay since her eviction is so recent. She found a month-to-month apartment option but doesn’t have funds for the $300 deposit.
“I went to a couple of churches and called a few places to see if they would help me with the rent or the deposit, and they're out of funds,” Jones said.
"I don’t know what I’m going to do now, because where I’m at now, I can’t be here anymore."
Available government rental assistance decreased drastically after 2022, when the city of Wichita’s federally funded emergency rental assistance program exhausted its funding. A different rental assistance program run by the city for people experiencing homelessness or nearing eviction is no longer accepting applications.
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, you can get 24/7 help by calling or texting 988.
The 18th District Court offers an Eviction Resolution Program for tenants and landlords interested in mediation as opposed to eviction. Kansas Legal Services offers a free walk-in clinic for civil matters, such as eviction, on Wednesdays from 12:30 - 4 p.m.
This article was republished here with the permission of: KMUW