A group protesting evictions on Tuesday called on Forsyth Clerk of Superior Court Renita Linville to allow more time in between eviction notices and court hearings, as part of a broader campaign to reinstate a coronavirus-driven moratorium on evictions.
The group, numbering close to 20, held a protest in front of the Forsyth County Hall of Justice, with members calling on Linville to allow up to 30 days in between the time an eviction notice is served and when a court hearing takes place on the landlord's demand.
The group also wants the state to re-impose a ban on evictions that has expired.
"Florida, Nevada and Kansas have eviction moratoriums," said Eric Weiss, one of those leading the protest. "If Florida can do this with their terrible response to COVID-19, we can too."
North Carolina had a moratorium on evictions that began in late March and ran out on June 20.
People are also reading…
Since then, Housing Justice Now members say, eviction filings have been frequent.
The group has been tracking eviction proceedings at the courthouse. It provided statistics showing that after the moratorium expired, fewer than 10 evictions a day were filed in the immediate aftermath of the lifting of the ban.
The numbers quickly mounted, reaching 104 cases filed on Aug. 3. From only 40 cases in June, July and August each saw more than 500 cases.
The housing group is also calling for rent cancellation during the coronavirus pandemic, and passage of state legislation setting up foreclosure- and rental-assistance payments.
When a landlord files to have a tenant evicted, the first step is a hearing than can take place as soon as seven days from the time of the notice. Housing Justice Now members point out that because of the coronavirus, N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley signed a directive that allowed county clerks across the state to schedule those hearings as much as 30 days past the notice.
Group members say that delay isn't happening here, and that Linville seems willing to "fast-track" evictions, in the words of group member Dan Rose.
Housing Justice Now members said giving renters a 30-day window to prepare for a hearing gives them a chance to find a different place to stay, if that's what they want, or time to negotiate with a landlord. It gives time to make arrangements for child care during the hearing, if that's needed, or even to seek legal assistance.
"It is incredibly easy to evict someone in North Carolina," Weiss said. "All (Linville) has to do is tell the people who make the schedules to click on a day 30 days later."
Linville could not be reached for this story, but members of Housing Justice Now who talked to Linville said she told them she would think about extending the hearing times.
Members of the group suggested Tuesday that Linville has personal reasons for not wanting to grant extended time for a hearing: They pointed out that Linville and her husband, the Rev. James F. Linville, own rental properties, and that an eviction proceeding was filed on July 21 against a person living in one of them.
James Linville, reached by telephone on Tuesday, said the eviction was done by the property management company that handles his rental properties.
"I have nothing to do with that," Linville said. "I have an agency to take care of that. I don't personally evict anyone."
Nakitta Long, a renter who spoke during Tuesday's protest, said she is not facing legal eviction but has been told to get out of the place she's staying because the owner is selling the property.
"I am unemployed," she said. "No one is going to rent to me with no income. I was getting the federal boost with unemployment, and all of a sudden it ended and I crashed. People have to have a safe place to live."
Rachael Fern said she volunteers to watch eviction proceedings for Housing Justice Now, and that the experience leaves her watching "people live out the worst days of their lives."
"People tell me the next stop is the woods," she said. "Can you imagine starting a new job with no place to stay, or wash your clothes? As a community we need to ask ourselves some hard questions."