This story is part of The Salt Lake Tribune’s ongoing commitment to identify solutions to Utah’s biggest challenges through the work of the Innovation Lab.
Despite calls to stay at home and shelter in place during the peak of COVID-19, eviction filings never stopped in Utah.
By April of 2020 filings did substantially slow to just 216, but as pandemic relief measures end, they are once again spiking, explained Dejan Eskic, senior research fellow at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, during the debut event of the “Storytelling through Data Forum series” on Wednesday. The quarterly events, a collaboration between The Salt Lake Tribune and the Gardner Institute, will focus on data-grounded conversations critical to Utahns’ quality of life.
“We’re seeing evictions explode,” Eskic said. “We’re getting back to the pre-COVID levels, but the caveat is we’ve spent over $200 million and probably even more on rental assistance and that rental assistance expired in February.”
In Feburary, 596 evictions were filed statewide. This past March, the number shot up to 765.
With evictions and rents rising, Eskic discussed potential solutions to Utah’s affordable housing crisis with Tara Rollins, executive director of the Utah Housing Coalition, Dan Lofgren, CEO of real estate company Cowboy Properties and Democratic state Sen. Nate Blouin.
The panelists addressed the Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund at length, noting that incentivizing development of affordable housing proved to be one successful solution.
However, the program has “only received $2.2 million each year historically since 1995,” Rollins said. “That’s a really important program and we need to start investing in that.”
Many Utahns are putting more than 50% of their income toward housing, Rollins said. That means if a medical emergency comes up or their cars break down they might not be able to afford rent that month. A fund providing loans to renters during extreme times of need could help ensure fewer people end up getting evicted and landing on the streets.
Hidden fees are another problem for Utah renters. While companies may list a more affordable base rent, surprise fees for garbage collection, unwanted cable packages and maintenance for common areas can add hundreds of dollars to a tenant’s monthly bill.
Eskic said finding ways to preserve affordable housing will also be crucial. “In Utah, we’ve lost over 40% of our [affordable] housing stock between 2011 and 2019.”
Building new housing is expensive and difficult, but through programs like the Utah Housing Preservation Fund, the state aims to maintain buildings that lower income renters can still afford.
You can watch the full forum and hear other solutions and problems discussed by panelists below.
