HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 5/12/2020 - Memorandum From Sue Beck-Ferkiss And Jc Ward Re: Eviction InformationSocial Sustainability
222 Laporte Avenue
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.221.6758
MEMORANDUM
DATE: May 6, 2020
TO: Mayor Wade Troxell & City Councilmembers
THRU: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
Jeff Mihelich, Deputy City Manager
Jacqueline Kozak-Thiel, Chief Sustainability Officer
Caryn Champine, Director, Planning, Transportation and Development
Beth Sowder, Director, Social Sustainability Department
FROM: Sue Beck-Ferkiss, Social Policy & Housing Program Manager, SSD
JC Ward, Senior Planner, Community Development and Neighborhood Services
RE: Eviction Information
Bottom Line: The purpose of this memo is to respond to several Councilmembers requests
including:
1. Additional information on statewide orders related to eviction.
2. What eviction data are available?
3. How the City is working with community members in manufactured home communities to
provide eviction-related information, and
4. Whether owners of manufactured home communities are eligible for business loans to
assist residents with rent and mortgage payments.
The following is a high-level summary, with additional details on the following pages:
1. Statewide Eviction Orders: On April 30, 2020, Colorado’s Governor Polis issued
Executive Order D2020 051 (“Order”) which builds on previous orders and extends a
moratorium on evictions for failure to pay rent until May 30, 2020. This applies to all
housing leases, regardless of housing type including manufactured housing. The
moratorium on evictions does not change a tenant’s obligation to pay rent. The City is
primarily involved in providing additional funding to support rental assistance for the
prevention of evictions. Information regarding this Order has been added to the United
Way of Larimer County, Larimer County’s and the City’s website.
2. Eviction Data: Eviction information is not readily available. From the data staff was able
to obtain, evictions have dropped during the pandemic. Staff anticipates evictions will
increase once the statewide orders are lifted.
3. City support for community members in manufactured homes: Staff has provided
information on rent assistance to manufactured housing community residents in the
North College area through door-to-door outreach and to community partners serving
manufactured home residents and will continue to include this information in English and
Spanish flyers throughout the COVID-19 response and recovery periods.
4. Eligibility for business loans and other relief for manufactured housing communities:
Manufactured housing communities may qualify for current COVID-19 relief programs at
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the federal and state level. Economic Health Staff is providing messaging about
applicable relief resources, including NoCo Recovers website, for Neighborhood
Services to provide to manufactured housing community management contacts. Staff is
setting up a virtual manufactured housing community owner/manager meeting,
tentatively scheduled for the last week of May, where applicable economic resources will
be discussed.
Background: The City does not have a regulatory or enforcement role with evictions. Evictions
are proceedings to remove a tenant from a landlord’s premises for failure to comply with lease
terms. These proceedings are judicial in nature and conducted at County and District Courts.
Orders that result from these proceeding are carried out by Sherriff’s departments.
Eviction Data: Eviction information is not easily obtained. The Courts do not provide this
information on a regular basis. Requests for data can be made through the State Judicial
Branch. Requests may be made for publicly accessible compiled and aggregate data pursuant
to Chief Justice Directive 05-01 (CJD 05-01). Data requests must be as specific as possible,
take 7-10 days, and may have fees associated.
Staff was able to obtain eviction information for Larimer County (not including Loveland) for
2020 to date through contacts at the State Courts and Probation Department. The number of
evictions in April was down to 5, a reduction of 96% from January’s 134.
It is not surprising that numbers went down because of overlapping eviction protections that
continue to be in place until May 30, 2020. As soon as the moratorium is lifted, it is likely there
will be a surge in evictions due to non-payment of rent.
Having an eviction on a tenant’s record can be damaging to their ability to secure housing in the
future. Even if landlords simply file notice without having the eviction move forward, it can affect
a tenant’s credit rating and negatively affect their rental history. The best way to avoid evictions
for failure to pay rent is to provide rental assistance.
Education and Outreach: The City does have a role in providing information about the
moratorium on evictions and about available eviction prevention assistance. The City also funds
eviction prevention programs, such as provided by Neighbor to Neighbor. Neighbor to Neighbor
is receiving additional state and municipal support during this time.
Fort Collins residents can apply for rent assistance through community partners, such as
Neighbor to Neighbor. Information about this and other assistance programs as well as
information on the eviction moratorium is available on the United Way of Larimer County’s web
site (https://uwaylc.org/) and Larimer County’s website (https://www.larimer.org/) (with direct
links from the City’s website https://fcgov.com/socialsustainability as well). The City is working
with additional partners, such as Poudre School District, to provide resource information to
residents in need. The City is pushing out information on how to access resources in multiple
ways, including providing information in signature blocks on emails, responding to resident
inquiries and providing consolidated resource listings. Referrals to Colorado Legal Services are
being made as appropriate too. The City also provides landlord – tenant mediation where
appropriate.
In addition, Volunteer Services, Social Sustainability, and Neighborhood Services provided
information on rent assistance to manufactured housing community (MHC) residents in the
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North College area through door-to-door outreach and to community partners serving
manufactured home residents and will continue to include this information in English and
Spanish flyers delivered to manufactured housing communities throughout the COVID-19
response and recovery periods. Other MHC residents will receive information, including eviction
protection during COVID, through regular communication channels such as emails, NextDoor,
newsletter articles, and flyers posted near mailboxes. Additional targeted outreach planned for
14 neighborhoods identified by the Vulnerable/Susceptible Neighborhoods Mapping Project
group as discussed under next steps.
Eligibility for business loans and other relief for manufactured housing communities:
Manufactured housing communities may qualify for current COVID-19 relief programs at the
federal and state level. Economic Health Office staff is providing messaging about applicable
relief resources, including the NoCo Recovers website, for Neighborhood Services to provide to
manufactured housing community management contacts. Staff is setting up a virtual
manufactured housing community owner/manager meeting, tentatively scheduled for the last
week of May, where applicable economic resources will be discussed.
However, recovery of unpaid rent or application for rent relief is not currently available for
landlords or property owners through emergency COVID-19 relief programs. Fort Collins
residents can continue to apply individually for rent assistance through community partners,
Neighbor to Neighbor is receiving additional municipal and state support during this time.
Undocumented residents are ineligible to apply for some rent assistance based on eligibility
requirements of nonprofit partners and will not receive federal economic stimulus funds, so gaps
in services for this vulnerable population may compound housing insecurity as Fort Collins
begins recovery from COVID-19. However, Neighbor to Neighbor has hired a Spanish speaking
housing counselor and has some philanthropic flexible funding that can be used to assist all
residents.
Next steps:
Continue to provide updated information to the public and community partners as
available.
Work with community partners to identify needs and access resources.
Neighborhood Services is planning additional direct outreach for community members
in14 neighborhoods identified by the Vulnerable/Susceptible Neighborhoods Mapping
Project group because they are likely to have less internet and technology access. This
will include information about existing resources and information about new
developments from local or statewide Executive Orders.
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