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ABSTRACT
Securing stable housing to prevent the spread of infection during the COVID-19 pandemic remains a concern among policymakers in the US. In this article, we provide a descriptive analysis of the association between COVID-19-related eviction moratoriums and eviction filings in New Orleans, Louisiana. Beginning in March 2020, four separate moratoriums were implemented at the local, state, and federal levels that sought to restrict eviction filings in New Orleans. We collected data on evictions filed from January 2017 through November 2020 in the First City Court of Orleans Parish, the entity responsible for adjudicating the majority of eviction filings in New Orleans. We then examined the association between the various eviction moratoriums, the number of evictions filed, the estimated number of evictions temporarily averted, and the average suit dollar amount for filed evictions. Our results indicate that local and state moratoriums were effective at temporarily halting eviction filings. Federal moratoriums offering fewer protections reduced eviction filings by approximately 50%. We estimate that COVID-19-related eviction moratoriums temporarily averted 2,492 eviction filings in New Orleans between March and November 2020. The average suit amount for eviction filings that resumed following the expiration of local and state moratoriums doubled from pre-COVID-19 filing amounts.
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The authors have no financial relationships relevant to this work.
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Notes on contributors
Kevin Callison
Kevin Callison is an assistant professor in the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. His research primarily focuses on issues related to the fields of health economics, labor economics, and applied econometrics. He is interested in evaluating policy interventions that aim to improve population health, including issues related to health insurance and health service use.
Davida Finger
Davida Finger is the Associate Dean of Students and Experiential Learning and the Rene August and Mary Jane Pastorek Distinguished Clinical Professor of Law at Loyola University New Orleans. She teaches the Community Justice section of the Law Clinic. She and her clinic students represent on cases such as: landlord-tenant, post-disaster housing, housing discrimination, and on other civil rights matters. In addition to litigating cases, Professor Finger strives to provide support and collaboration on community advocacy for anti-poverty and justice initiatives.
Isabella M. Smith
Isabella M. Smith is a Master’s in Public Health Candidate in Health Policy in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Tulane School of Public Health. She is interested in issues related to health equity and health insurance coverage.