Wisconsin’s affordable housing crisis has recently culminated in a disastrous spike in eviction rates for Dane County residents. According to Wisconsin Public Radio, eviction rates in 2023 doubled compared to the previous year, ridding residents of their housing security and making rehousing increasingly difficult. Landlords are beginning to take advantage of Dane County’s CORE program — a COVID-19 era rental assistance service intended to aid individuals struggling to pay rent. Essentially, landlords are filing eviction notices without the intention of truly evicting their tenants. Instead, they are utilizing evictions to receive rental assistance funding from Eviction Diversion and Defense Partnership.

In exchange for their landlords’ profits, tenants are being forced to bear the burden of legal records that are tainted with eviction proceedings. Notably, 80% of filed eviction cases were dismissed last year, according to WPR. It is Tenants who would otherwise not have been involved in eviction processes are being taken advantage of by their landlords.

Not only does this behavior create hostility and distrust between tenants and landlords, but the legal documentation of eviction filing can have long-term implications for tenants. An eviction record represents a red flag to many landlords, indicating tenants’ inability to pay rent on a timely basis, according to the Center for American Progress. Though most eviction cases don’t actually result in an eviction, even a dismissed case stays on tenants’ legal records for two years and can serve as a barrier to rehousing.

The city must step in to provide help to residents struggling with these issues. Some immediate solutions might include tightening the criteria needed for landlords to file eviction notices. If only 20% of filed cases proceed without dismissal, the requirements for a landlord to file an eviction must be too lax. If a stricter approval process for filing evictions is instilled, responsible tenants might be less likely to have unnecessarily tainted housing records.

Moreover, another report from the Center for American Progress finds that while 90% of landlords have legal representation, less than 10% of tenants do. As a result, landlords have an upper hand over tenants in legal proceedings regarding evictions. The city can repair this imbalance by providing legal support to tenants regarding their rights and to defend them against unfair evictions.   

This trend in increasing eviction rates is especially harmful considering the large student population in the city of Madison. Tenant Resource Center Executive Director Hannah Renfro told Spectrum News that for many college students having their first renting experience, they are less educated about their rights as tenants, making them vulnerable targets for being exploited by legal loopholes.

To protect students from conditions that may lead to eviction or housing insecurity, the city should instill a cap on rental prices for housing near campus. The university might also step in to create more student housing aid its students by educating them about their tenant rights and providing them with legal assistance in potential eviction cases.

While the long-term solution to this issue would be expungement of eviction records, the high rate of eviction filings in Dane County demands a more immediate and attainable response. Whether checks are placed against landlords’ ability to file evictions or support systems are built for tenants in Dane County — both students and non-students — action must be taken by the city to increase housing security and decrease eviction rates.

Aanika Parikh ([email protected]) is a sophomore studying molecular and cell biology.