Shame put Virginia on course to stronger tenant protections

Just a few years ago, Virginia was considered a civic embarrassment for its staggering eviction rate

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- When four people facing eviction arrived at a Virginia Beach courthouse in early August, they never had to stand before a judge, a process that for many can be stressful and humiliating. Instead, an attorney representing landlords told them their housing woes were being resolved: each tenant had either caught up on rent or qualified for Virginia’s $1 billion rental assistance program. “For the most part, landlords and tenants are working together to get the rent paid,” said the attorney, Michael Hipps. The scene contradicted the image of a state that, up until a few years ago, was considered a civic embarrassment for its staggering rate of evictions. Five of Virginia’s cities ranked in the national top 10, according to a 2018 report from the Eviction Lab at Princeton University.