‘DISCONNECT’

Landlord Took $1M in COVID Relief—Then Moved to Evict 350 Tenants

Half the properties that got money from an eviction-prevention fund in Arizona filed to toss tenants.

The Arizona landlord who collected the most money from a state fund to prevent evictions during the pandemic—almost $1 million—turned around and asked for permits to toss tenants from 350 apartments. That’s according to an Arizona Republic investigation that found just under half the properties that benefited from the assistance program pursued evictions after a state moratorium was lifted. One recipient, who got $50,000, filed to evict almost a third of his tenants. “Eviction filings, especially in Maricopa County, have continued to rise despite rental assistance and despite state and federal directives to address public health,” Chris Groninger, a consumer advocate with the nonprofit Arizona Bar Foundation, told the newspaper. “At some point, we must ask ourselves—why is that? What disconnect is happening in the process that is not stopping eviction actions from being filed?”