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When single mother Khalyah Jackson-Rivers lost her job in May, she fell behind on her rent despite a payment plan, eventually owing thousands of dollars to her building鈥檚 management company in South Carolina.

鈥淭hen I got an eviction notice [in July] and a second eviction notice, and [it] said I had 30 days to move,鈥� Ms. Jackson-Rivers said by phone, worrying that she and her young daughter would have nowhere to go.

Despite a federal ban on evictions amid the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. families are still being threatened with removal from their homes 鈥� and the rate of such legal filings may be speeding up, housing experts warn.

After a previous ban ended in July, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in September issued a sweeping nationwide order temporarily halting millions of U.S. renters from being evicted, in a bid to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Yet thousands of eviction filings went forward in the weeks leading up to and following the start of the moratorium, brought by some of the largest landlords in the country, according to tracking by the nonprofit Private Equity Stakeholder Project.

鈥淲e saw a substantial increase in cases in the last month, including since the CDC moratorium was announced,鈥� the group鈥檚 executive director, Jim Baker, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The group warned of a surge in evictions in a September report, saying that 鈥渇ilings by private equity firms and other large landlords appear to be accelerating.鈥�

Others like Princeton University鈥檚 Eviction Lab have noted similar trends.

The Eviction Lab reported 1,975 evictions in the 17 cities it tracks during one week in mid-September, and more than 50,000 since the pandemic began.

Such data is notoriously difficult to gather, so to get a sense of the national picture, Mr. Baker and his colleagues have been focusing on metro areas in five states 鈥� Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas.

They recorded more than 5,200 cases in these areas brought by private equity firms and other large corporate landlords during the four weeks since the CDC moratorium was announced.

鈥淲e鈥檙e just scratching the surface, but I do think the findings are representative of broader trends,鈥� Mr. Baker said.

A spokeswoman for property leasing firm Invitation Homes, one of the companies highlighted by the study, said in emailed comments that 鈥渆viction is never a course we want to pursue.鈥�

鈥淲e have been doing what the CDC order directs since early in the pandemic 鈥� working with our residents facing COVID-related financial hardships and offering a variety of payment options so they can stay in their homes,鈥� she said.

In September, after speaking with an attorney, Ms. Jackson-Rivers found out about the moratorium鈥檚 declaration form, and signed and handed it over.

She is now protected from eviction through the end of the year, but is currently moving out of her apartment anyway and into a family member鈥檚 house.

A spokesman for AMCS, the management company at Ms. Jackson-Rivers鈥檚 building, did not respond to a request for comment.

Procedural hurdle

The CDC ban covers nearly all renters, said Sarah Saadian, vice president for public policy at the National Low Income Housing Coalition, but it does have exemptions and requirements.

鈥淥ne of the challenges with the moratorium is that to be protected, renters have to sign a declaration form and give it to their landlord,鈥� she said.

Currently, property owners do not have to give formal notice to tenants about the moratorium and steps they have to take if they need its protection, Ms. Saadian said, though her office is urging federal agencies involved in housing to change that.

鈥淐orporate landlords are moving forward as quickly as possible before renters hear about the moratorium,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 clearly violating the intention of the order, which is to protect individual and public health.鈥�

Many of those evicted will move in with friends and families, Ms. Saadian said, making it harder to follow social distancing guidelines.

The National Multifamily Housing Council, which represents the apartment industry鈥檚 largest firms, called on congressional leaders to focus more on rental assistance, which the CDC moratorium does not provide.

鈥淚t is far better to focus on ensuring renters can pay the rent than to try and come up with policies like eviction moratoriums that do not address the root cause and put housing providers at financial risk,鈥� vice president Paula Cino said in emailed comments.

Landlords and industry groups have sued over the moratorium, claiming it is unconstitutional.

鈥榃e鈥檇 be moving into a shelter鈥�

Some renters have reported instances of landlords not accepting moratorium declarations.

Scott and Martine Thomas had been renting in Riverdale, Georgia, for two years when the pandemic hit this spring, forcing Ms. Thomas to take a 20% pay cut as well as reduced hours.

The family has relied on that salary as Mr. Thomas cares for their two teenage sons with special needs.

While the couple was able to keep up on their rent in April and May, they started to fall behind in June, able to make only partial payments until mid-July 鈥� when their landlord asked them to move out by October.

鈥淲e called family and friends and got the rent together, the full rent,鈥� Mr. Thomas said in a phone interview.

But after some back-and-forth, the landlord continued to demand that the Thomases move out.

Both Mr. and Ms. Thomas had heard about the CDC moratorium, however, and after consulting with an attorney, gave the landlord the signed declaration.

Yet days later, an eviction notice was posted on their door, Mr. Thomas said. The couple is now awaiting a court date on the eviction.

鈥淔ortunately I鈥檓 able to take advantage of the CDC moratorium because otherwise we鈥檇 be moving into a shelter,鈥� Mr. Thomas said.

He noted that with no co-ed shelter in the county, 鈥渋t would be just me with the kids, and my wife would be in another shelter by herself.鈥�

The Thomases鈥� landlord 鈥� they asked that he not be named publicly 鈥� did not respond to a request for comment; a former property manager said he was no longer in that position.

Amanda Cole, the attorney who advised the Thomases on the declaration process, said communication on the issue between landlords and tenants is an ongoing gap.

Some landlords 鈥渁ren鈥檛 even aware about the moratorium until [a declaration] is handed to them,鈥� said Ms. Cole of the Atlanta Legal Aid Society.

鈥淏ut I鈥檓 sure a lot are aware of it, and I haven鈥檛 heard of any being proactive and telling clients or tenants about this option.鈥�

This story was reported by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

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