EVANSVILLE, Il. — On the second floor of this courthouse, what at first glance looks like an ATM is actually a legal lifeline. It is a legal aid kiosk, which helps users facing eviction to get the legal help they need.

“It's going to either be in the courthouse or in their local library, and that's where low-income people seek help,” said Scott Wylie, an attorney with Pro Bono Indiana. “It's touch screen; it's intuitive. They can look up all of the resources that are available and provide legal assistance in their eviction action and other related housing stability issues. They can directly connect to a legal navigator who is trained to be able to provide them guidance.”

When evictions began rising in the state last year, pro bono legal services found many tenants in need of legal help.

“We found that over 50% of eviction clients, who were arriving to be removed from their apartment, had never heard of civil legal aid assistance or rental assistance. Over 50%,” Wylie said.

According to data collected by The Eviction Lab, as of early November, the number of evictions in cities across the country is on the rise. When compared to their average numbers from previous years, in Las Vegas, it rose 60%; in Cleveland, it was up 61%; in Milwaukee, it climbed to 68% and in Tampa, it skyrocketed 121%.

“We have a large problem across the United States, and solutions like these help chip away at those inequities that poor people are confronted with,” Wylie said.

Several states are now making use of legal kiosks, including Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana and North Dakota.

In Indiana, $1 million in federal COVID relief funds paid for 120 kiosks to get deployed across the state, which connects users to Indiana Legal Help. One will be placed in each of Indiana’s 92 counties. Advocates say it is something that is needed, especially in rural areas.

“The reality is, in many counties in Indiana and many counties across the United States, they're now 'legal deserts,'” Wylie said.

Abbie Bush heads up civil legal assistance programs at the Indiana Bar Foundation and worked to get the kiosks into the state.

“It was almost a no-brainer that this is what our state needed,” Bush said. “It's accessible to anybody, but we are targeting those people who are lower income and can receive free legal services.”

Those who do pro bono legal work believe those services could help prevent evictions.

“If we can intervene early, find the case before it has reached the point of not being repairable, we can help people cure for a relatively small amount of money,” Wylie said. “That's much different than what it costs society for someone to fall into homelessness.”

When the federal eviction moratorium was in place, evictions were down across the country. Now, those numbers are a bit more complicated.

"For example, in some places currently, you can't file to evict someone who has already filed for rental assistance, and so in places like that, we've seen that numbers have not gone up as much," said Emily Lemmerman, a research specialist at Princeton University's Eviction Lab. "In other places, eviction filings are closer to 100% of the historical average."

The Eviction Lab has been tracking filings in six states and 31 cities. They say that in Connecticut, Houston, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Columbus, evictions are back to pre-pandemic levels.

However, the agency notes that numbers are likely higher in those localities and elsewhere. That's because there are a number of informal eviction measures landlords can use to push tenants out, which don't show up in the court case filings that they track. Those measures include changing locks, shutting off utilities and other intimidation tactics.

The bigger issue now is that some tenants are reporting that it's harder to find a new place to live as rent prices have soared across the country.

The Eviction Lab can be helpful to people looking for a new home and help improve their chances of not being evicted again.

Research shows many evictions in some cities can be attributed to certain buildings.

"Two-thirds of all evictions in Tucson originate from about the same 300 buildings every year," Lemmerman said. "We found in the cities that were tracking eviction filings during the pandemic that even up to, like, 30% of all evictions in a single city can be attributed to about 100 buildings."

Lemmerman also says the long-lasting effects of rental assistance are clear. That's something federal and local governments have been working to distribute better.

Some cities have also seen success with certain policies. Philadelphia, for example, has an eviction diversion program that forces filings to go to mediation before an eviction takes place. That gives tenants time to work out an agreement with their landlord.

Video above: Tenants worry as US eviction moratorium expires

The federal eviction ban, which protected millions of struggling renters while frustrating landlords across the country, has ended for the second time in just four weeks.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court blocked the latest eviction moratorium, writing in an unsigned, eight-page opinion: "Congress was on notice that a further extension would almost surely require new legislation, yet it failed to act in the several weeks leading up to the moratorium's expiration."

The back and forth over what landlords can do in terms of evictions and what renters can expect when they have lost income due to the pandemic has been legally, financially and emotionally fraught for both groups. The end of the federal protection has landlords declaring victory and housing advocates calling it a "tragic" and "avoidable" outcome.

The eviction moratorium was put in place last September by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to prevent the spread of coronavirus. When it expired at the end of July, there was a strong and vocal reaction from housing advocates and members of Congress that ending the ban before the bulk of the federal government's $46 billion in emergency rental assistance was distributed would undermine the point of the moratorium in the first place.

Days later, on August 3, the CDC issued a new eviction ban covering areas where COVID-19 infection rates are elevated, protecting about 90% of renters. The new moratorium was challenged in court by landlords and real estate companies, leading to the Supreme Court's ruling on Thursday.

In a U.S. Census Bureau survey conducted at the beginning of August, more than 3 million renters said they will likely have to leave their home due to eviction in the next two months.

"The federal eviction moratorium was a lifeline for millions of families, the last remaining federal protection keeping them safely and stably housed throughout the pandemic," said Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. "The tragic, consequential, and entirely avoidable outcome of this ruling will be millions of people losing their homes this fall and winter, just as the delta variant ravages communities and lives."

Renters will need to turn to local protections

Eviction filings are expected to ramp up, but it is yet to be seen how backlogged courts are and how effective the remaining patchwork of state and local protections will be in keeping renters in place until they secure rent relief.

"There will be a ton of eviction filings," said John Pollock, coordinator for the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel, which advocates for renters. "How quickly the courts might actually evict everyone, is hard to say. Courts have shown they can be ruthlessly efficient, they can dispose of hundreds of cases in a morning."

Many struggling renters were hoping to receive emergency rental assistance from the government to pay their back rent and remain in their home. The latest eviction moratorium had provided a critical backstop to ensure they stayed in place until that money was received.

But of the $46 billion in emergency rent relief money, only $5.1 billion had been distributed through July, according to the Treasury Department. That means about 89% of the money set aside for renters had yet to be distributed.

Because of that, Pollock expects that some courts will try to take it slow.

"If they are paying attention at all they know most of that [rent relief] hasn't gotten to anyone yet," Pollock said. "Many judges will push back and give tenants a chance. Take a moment to at least ask them, 'Have you applied?' And judges may be telling landlords, 'Before you file to evict, you need to apply for rent relief first.'"

State and local jurisdictions have been introducing legislation and putting in place their own eviction bans to protect renters while the process of distributing rental assistance continues.

States like California and Illinois have extended their state eviction moratoriums. Other states, like Minnesota, Nevada and New York, have put in place laws that protect renters from eviction while they are in the process of applying for emergency rental assistance.

Some communities are creating eviction diversion programs, which encourage mediation between the landlord and tenant before evictions can proceed.

Pollock said struggling renters facing eviction should contact their local legal aid organization, which should be aware of any additional local protections. They should also apply for rent relief. There is a searchable list of rental assistance programs at the U.S. Treasury and another one managed by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

Landlords relieved the moratorium is over

Landlords and property owners, many of whom continue to work with renters to help them get rent relief, have been frustrated they cannot remove tenants who are unwilling to apply for rental assistance.

"This ruling will allow property owners the benefit of their property and also light a fire under tenants to access ... the Congressionally authorized solution to this problem, which was rent support," said John Vecchione, senior litigation counsel at New Civil Liberties Alliance, an organization aiming to protect constitutional freedoms that has brought several cases against the CDC regarding the eviction moratorium

"This illegal order not only injured thousands of mom-and-pop housing providers, but undermined the actual policy Congress chose to address the COVID-19 rental market disruptions," he said.

The National Apartment Association, an industry group of landlords, has long held that the CDC's eviction moratorium was unlawful and said it was pleased with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down the order. But, Bob Pinnegar, the president and CEO of NAA, warned there's a lot of outstanding debt that has built up since the moratorium was put in place.

"Though the moratorium is lifted, it is important to remember that billions in debt remain on renters' records and housing providers' shoulders -- it's past time to focus on the most sustainable path forward of full rental assistance funding and streamlined distribution," said Pinnegar.

Calls for more protections

Advocates for renters and those concerned about the health issues involved with millions of people facing eviction while the pandemic continues, are calling on Congress, states and local governments to put new eviction protections in place for renters.

"All levels of government must now take immediate action to protect the most vulnerable renters and ensure everyone has safe and stable housing during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and beyond," said Ian Thompson, senior legislative advocate at the American Civil Liberties Union.

With millions of people now facing eviction, Thompson also wants states and communities to put in place protections for renters after they've been evicted, including offering them a right to counsel and banning screening policies that reject applicants due to a prior eviction.

"We need this meaningful action to stop mass evictions with devastating racial and gender disparities during the pandemic and beyond," said Thompson.

The Supreme Court decision undermines unprecedented efforts by Congress and the White House to ensure housing stability during the pandemic, said Yentel of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

"State and local governments are working to improve programs to distribute emergency rental assistance to those in need, but they need more time. The Supreme Court's decision will lead to many renters, predominantly people of color, losing their homes before the assistance can reach them," she said. "The tragic consequences of this decision will reverberate for years."

WASHINGTON —

The White House moved Monday to pressure state and local governments to swiftly adopt policies to protect renters after an eviction moratorium expired over the weekend, potentially pushing millions of Americans out of their homes.

In a statement on Monday, the White House emphasized that the federal government has provided $46.5 billion to keep renters in their homes. But it accused states and cities of being "too slow to act," preventing that aid from making its way to tenants whose livelihoods have been upended by the pandemic.

The focus on states comes as President Joe Biden faces stinging criticism, including from some in his own party, that he was was slow to address the end of the moratorium. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the prospect of widespread evictions "unfathomable." The Congressional Black Caucus intensified pressure on the White House to issue an immediate extension. And one Democrat, Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, who has been camped out in protest had a brief conversation at the U.S. Capitol with Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday.

Some people were at risk of losing their homes as soon as Monday. But the White House insists there is only so much it can do on its own and that state and local leaders need to step up and get the aid out.

"The president is clear: If some states and localities can get this out efficiently and effectively there’s no reason every state and locality can’t," Gene Sperling, who oversees the administration's coronavirus relief plans, told reporters. "There is simply no excuse, no place to hide for any state or locality that is failing to accelerate their emergency" rental assistance.

Late last week, Biden announced he was allowing the ban to expire. The White House said he would have supported an extension of the moratorium but pointed to the Supreme Court, which signaled in a 5-4 vote in late June that it wouldn’t back further extensions. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that Congress would have to act to extend the moratorium. The White House noted that state-level efforts to stop evictions would spare a third of the country from evictions over the next month.

While the administration is still investigating legal options to forestall evictions, officials said their options were limited. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which issued the eviction ban, was "unable to find legal authority for a new, targeted eviction moratorium."

Mass evictions could potentially worsen the recent spread of the COVID-19 delta variant as roughly 1.4 million households told the Census Bureau they could "very likely" be evicted from their rentals in the next two months. Another 2.2 million say they’re "somewhat likely" to be evicted.

Sperling said the administration will keep looking for additional legal avenues to keep people in their homes. Yet he stressed the complexity of the problem by also noting that the Trump administration developed guidelines for providing aid to renters and landlords that were unworkable. Those guidelines which required extensive documentation were changed once Biden was in office.

"This is not an easy task," Sperling said. "We as a country have never had a national infrastructure or national policy for preventing avoidable evictions."

Pelosi, for her part, said that she welcomed the administration’s urging of states and cities to impose their own moratoriums. And she said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen would hold a virtual briefing Tuesday with lawmakers as they push to more quickly ensure the states distribute the federal aid.

Rep. Maxine Waters, the powerful chair of the Financial Services Committee, has been talking privately for days with Yellen. She said in a statement that she urged Yellen to use her influence to urge states to push the money out the door and the treasury secretary has personally committed to doing so.

The CDC put the eviction ban in place as part of the COVID-19 response when jobs shifted and many workers lost income. The ban was intended to hold back the spread of the virus among people put out on the streets and into shelters.

Democratic lawmakers said they were caught by surprise by Biden's decision allowing the ban to expire, creating frustration and anger and exposing a rare rift with the administration.

Congress was unable to pass legislation swiftly to extend the ban, which expired at midnight Saturday, and the House Democratic leaders have said it was now up to Biden’s administration to act.

Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., has been leading a protest at the Capitol since the eve of the expiration. The St. Louis-area congresswoman has been joined at times by other top progressive Democrats urging action, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Bernie Sanders were among those stopping by to visit with Bush outside the Capitol. But she also talked briefly with Vice President Kamala Harris.

"I needed her to look me in my eyes and I wanted to look in hers when I asked for help to prevent our people from being evicted," Bush said on Twitter. "Madam Vice President, let’s work together to get this done."

CINCINNATI — Despite continued federal guidance against allowing evictions as the COVID-19 pandemic continues into spring, a Hamilton County judge announced Cincinnati's municipal court soon would begin processing evictions again. Now, one city councilman is taking action to hit the brakes.

"Most of these evictions involve children," said City Councilman Greg Landsman during a news conference Friday morning, where he introduced an ordinance that would put the eviction ban back into place.

Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended its moratorium until June 30.

"For me, (it's about) making sure every child is able to stay in their homes so that every child is as successful and as healthy as humanly possible," Landsman said.

Nick Dinardo, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati, said the region would stand alone among major Ohio cities in re-implementing eviction proceedings.

"In Cleveland, in Columbus, in Dayton, tenants in all those major Ohio cities still have the protection of the CDC order. We are an outlier," he said. "Folks in Silverton or Gulf Manor, Lincoln Heights, Forest Park, Delhi, this won't help them."

Politicians, activists and tenants’ rights organizers across the United States have argued that evicting tenants during the COVID-19 pandemic is unfair, considering the novel coronavirus’ unforeseeable impact on the global economy and the safety of everyday life.

Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Heather Russell announced a week ago that evictions would resume, saying an appeals court directed lower courts to do so while it reviews a case involving landlords who say eviction restrictions have caused financial strain.

On the same day the CDC extended its moratorium, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals -- which has jurisdiction over Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan and Tennessee -- voted to grant an injunction against the CDC on behalf of a group of Tennessee landlords. Russell said that decision bound her to resume proceedings.

“I just do what the superior court tells us to do,” Russell told WCPO last week. “It’s not like I’m a hard and cruel and cold-hearted person wanting to evict people in COVID. Like any other judge anywhere in our federal district, I must follow the latest ruling from a superior court, which says the moratorium is stopped.”

Russell declined to comment further for this report.

Hamilton County has $60 million in federal aid to help people pay up to 12 months of past-due rent and up to three months of future rent. Landsman said he hopes his proposal will give advocates more time to get that relief money in the hands of county residents facing potential homelessness.

Cincinnati City Council will vote on Landsman's measure

Those in need of assistance have options. They can reach out to the following organizations for help in finding relief:

• St. Vincent de Paul/Community Action Agency: 513-421-0602
• United Way: 2-1-1
• Housing Opportunities Made Equal: 513-721-4663
• Municipal Court helpline: 513-946-5650