A recent study revealed a ‘shocking’ number of eviction filings in Atlanta– experts say it’s more than just a housing issue
TheGrio...
Experts say the scale of Atlanta’s eviction filings impact extends beyond housing to food security, education, health & economic opportunity.
A recent study by Princeton University unveiled the growing issue in Atlanta, Georgia: eviction filings. The university’s Eviction Labs, an organization committed to analyzing eviction data in major cities across the United States, found that as of August 1, 2026, over 142,000 eviction cases had been filed in Atlanta’s five counties, a significantly higher number than other areas like New York City (116,032), which has roughly four times as many renter households.
“Our reaction to this data was not surprise because I think that we’re aware that we have a pretty significant issue here, but the magnitude of it relative to other cities was pretty shocking,” Amanda Rhein, Chief Housing Officer at the City of Atlanta, told theGrio.
And these evictions fillings have been found to have a disproportionate impact on Black renters in the metro-Atlanta area. According to Eviction Lab, despite making up 53% of the city’s renters, 69% of Black renters have received eviction filings from landlords.
“You’re looking at four to five times the risk of eviction for a Black renter relative to a white renter,” University of Rutgers Sociology professor and Eviction Lab collaborator Peter Hepburn told attendees during a meeting about the study, per Capital B News. “Black renters with household incomes of over $80,000 a year are still at greater risk of eviction than a white household that’s making $20,000 a year. So we can explain some of the story by income, but there’s a big part of the story that remains.”
Now, experts point to a number of potential causes associated with the city’s high number of eviction filling–the largest one being the cost to file for eviction. The national average cost for a landlord to file an eviction is approximately $110, with some states’ fees reaching as high as $435. However, in Atlanta, the filing fee ranges from $50 to $75. So, for landlords looking to collect late rent payments, the low cost and ease of the process seem like a simple solution. However, this leads to a phenomenon known as serial eviction filings, in which landlords repeatedly file eviction cases against the same tenant at the same address. In the metro-Atlanta area, Eviction Lab found that 36% of renters who had received filings had received another at the same address within the last two years.
“In the city of Atlanta, we still experience pretty significant segregation, and so what you find is there’s a concentration of Black, largely low-income households that live in specific neighborhoods across the city where there has been decades of disinvestment, and as a result, I think the likelihood that somebody is living in a place with a landlord where they’re choosing to use an eviction filing to collect rent is higher,” Rhein shared.
Just as Princeton’s Eviction Lab study found disproportionate eviction filings in Atlanta, the Legal Defense Fund’s research found that homeowners in the area, specifically DeKalb County, have faced a similar phenomenon: tax liens placed on their properties as a result of exorbitant water bills often linked to infrastructure problems. Data show that low-income areas and communities of color are disproportionately affected by underinvestment in water infrastructure, which, David Wheaton, Assistant Policy Counsel at LDF, says, subsequently exposes them to higher water rates.
“These increased rates for water can lead to affordability issues, which in turn could lead to their residence being foreclosed through the tax sale process,” Wheaton explained to theGrio. “LDF has found that the most affected are low-income Black homeowners. In a recent analysis of water shutoffs in Dekalb County, Georgia LDF found that there is a significant association between water shutoffs and Black residents living in DeKalb County from 2021 to 2023. Furthermore, not only did the shutoffs heavily impact Black residents, but they also had an unequal impact on county residents with disabilities and people living in 3-bedroom units, who are more likely to be families.”
“The Lien process and the eviction process are very similar. Both cause housing instability that can be devastating for families,” he added.
And these issues impact more than just housing. Both Wheaton and Rhein emphasized the impact evictions and liens can have on communities. In addition to tarnishing their rental history and creating additional barriers to future moves, the disproportionate number of tax liens and evictions placed on Black communities can lead to food insecurity, mental health issues, and low academic performance and attendance amongst kids.
“Housing determines what community you can afford to be in and what amenities you have access to, what opportunity you have access to,” Rhein explained. “If we’re looking at neighborhoods on the north side of Atlanta versus neighborhoods on the south and west side, there’s a 20-year difference in life expectancy.”
Understanding the layered impact of these housing issues, the city of Atlanta has taken a number of steps to address these problems over the years. From offering $500 no-fee, no-interest rent loans for people unable to pay their monthly rent to its Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative, which includes an anti-displacement playbook, the Chief Housing Officer explains how the city has done a number of things to create solutions, but real change requires a “group effort.”
“The city of Atlanta recognizes this issue and is working hard to do everything within our power to affect change,” she concluded. “But it is an effort that requires a broader constituency to participate, and so we just hope that we can get everybody to the table to be part of the solution so that we can reduce our eviction rate and provide more stable housing and healthier communities to Atlantians.”