As federal COVID-19 support programs fade away, evictions in New Hampshire are on the rise.

Data from the state’s judicial branch indicates that the average number of “landlord tenant writs” – the first official phase in an eviction process – filed per month is 520 so far in 2023, up from 2022’s average of 438.

And court-enforced evictions have also increased. 2022 saw an average 216 “writs of possession” issued per month, indicating the number of times a court approved a county sheriff to forcibly remove a tenant from a rental property. This year, that average has climbed to 253.

Low-income tenants no longer have access to the Emergency Rental Assistance Program; that initiative, which used federal COVID relief money to give rental aid to qualifying tenants, ended in October. But the New Hampshire court system launched a landlord tenant mediation program in 2021, which state officials and advocates say could help reduce unneeded evictions and avoid painful court appearances.

To continue reading the rest of the article, please click on the source link below:

https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2023-05-30/facing-eviction-in-new-hampshire-heres-what-you-need-to-know