{"id":1673,"date":"2019-12-11T18:29:58","date_gmt":"2019-12-11T18:29:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=1673"},"modified":"2023-03-27T15:52:46","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T15:52:46","slug":"you-dont-know-whats-behind-the-door-inside-durhams-evictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2019\/12\/11\/you-dont-know-whats-behind-the-door-inside-durhams-evictions\/","title":{"rendered":"‘You don\u2019t know what\u2019s behind the door’: Inside Durham\u2019s evictions"},"content":{"rendered":"
Durham County Sheriff\u2019s Deputy Michael Wood has the job that no one wants \u2013 especially not today, just a couple weeks before Thanksgiving, in the freezing weather.<\/span><\/p>\n Today is \u201cpadlock Friday,\u201d the end to yet another week of evictions.<\/span><\/p>\n Wood has a stack of papers sandwiched between the sun visor and the roof of his white sheriff\u2019s cruiser. Each one is a court order to complete an eviction, or a padlock, as they call it in the sheriff\u2019s office.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s just above freezing, so Wood will have on his embroidered \u201csheriff\u201d beanie, which falls just inches above his glasses. With a puffy black jacket on and a laptop that\u2019s next to his steering wheel, there\u2019s not much room left on the driver\u2019s side of the car.<\/span><\/p>\n He\u2019ll spend the day meeting with landlords and property managers, searching houses and apartments, and making sure that the locks have been changed on those properties so the evicted tenants cannot return.<\/span><\/p>\n Sometimes he finds families with children, abandoned pets, or, in one case, a tenant inflicting injuries on herself. But there\u2019s nothing the sheriff\u2019s office can do to change the eviction, Deputy Wood says.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey were going to lose the property or wherever they live long before I got there,\u201d he says, \u201cand if it hadn’t been me doing it it’d have been somebody else.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Durham saw <\/span>9,335 evictions in 2018<\/span><\/a>, or about 180 every week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n They all start with the same letter, calling the tenant to small claims court to answer for their failure to pay rent.<\/span><\/p>\n The tenant isn\u2019t obligated to come to court, but if they don\u2019t show, the eviction process will continue without them, Wood says.<\/span><\/p>\n ***<\/span><\/p>\n Eviction court starts at 9 a.m. sharp nearly every weekday. Get there late for your hearing, and you might miss it in the sea of dozens scheduled for that morning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n On some mornings, the magistrates will hear well over 100 cases, especially at the start of the month, when landlords file more claims.<\/span><\/p>\n Once defendants find their names on the docket outside, they slip quietly into one of the hearing rooms. Unlike in District Court, defendants here are handled first-come, first-served.<\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s no bailiff or court reporter. The only record of each hearing will be the magistrate\u2019s scribbles on the back of the case envelope.<\/span><\/p>\n There are two tables. One is for the landlord and an attorney; the other is for the tenant and their attorney. But tenants rarely have one.<\/span><\/p>\n Sometimes, the landlords won\u2019t show up. They\u2019ll contract the case out to a law firm that specializes in eviction cases; lawyers will come in about every month or so, outgunning dozens of tenants in just minutes each.<\/span><\/p>\n Is your agreed-upon rent $550 per month?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Did you fail to pay rent for the months of September and October?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Are you still in possession of the property?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Tenants will admit that yes, they did sign the lease. And yes, that is the amount of rent that they agreed to. Yes, they missed rent for a month or two, but they were in a bind. They just lost their job, or their spouse died. Or their car broke down. Or a relative was sick.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And many tenants tell eye-opening stories about poor conditions. Tammie Gibson said her rental home turned from a family atmosphere into a nightmare, a toxic environment that led her to develop depression. She described a stove that routinely caught fire, persistent issues with rats, and domestic disputes with other residents.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t want to be there a minute longer,\u201d she said to the magistrate.<\/span><\/p>\n Sometimes, tenants purposely won\u2019t pay their rent to try to force their landlord to address a nagging problem such as a rodent infestation or perpetually clogged plumbing.<\/span><\/p>\n But North Carolina doesn\u2019t allow this retaliatory action. If you live there, you have to pay for it.<\/span><\/p>\n The court also has no responsibility to evaluate why tenants can\u2019t or won\u2019t pay. Despite Durham\u2019s problem with skyrocketing rents, with <\/span>average rent rising 15% in the past three years<\/span><\/a>, the court cannot grant tenants reprieve. From the court\u2019s perspective, it\u2019s simple: the tenant hasn\u2019t paid rent, and the landlord needs the property back. The magistrate then has to rule against the tenant.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Unless the tenant appeals the judgment within 10 days, it becomes a permanent eviction record, influencing credit scores and job applications for years to come.<\/span><\/p>\n ***<\/span><\/p>\n Once that judgment is processed by the court, it\u2019s added to Deputy Wood\u2019s docket of padlocks.<\/span><\/p>\n He crisscrosses Durham every day, from downtown luxury apartments to public housing to\u00a0 new suburban townhomes. Every hour, on the hour, he has an appointment to meet with a landlord to enforce the court\u2019s ruling.<\/span><\/p>\n