LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
COVID-19 and the Arizona rental housing industry
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ore than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the rental housing industry is still reeling from the aftereffects of both extreme economic duress and unprecedented government overreach. The industry remains under the grips of a federal eviction moratorium with no indication from the government as to when rental property owners’ rights will be restored. While the federal executive branch has been unrelenting, we are starting to witness the judiciary push back with federal judges in Texas, Tennessee and Ohio declaring the federal eviction moratorium as unconstitutional. Those cases are now under appeal. The 2021 Arizona Legislative Session has been in full swing since January,
20 | May-June 2021
Courtney Gilstrap LeVinus AMA
and lawmakers have been considering a record-breaking 1,829 bills and resolutions. While most of them — almost 1,500 bills — died throughout the process, the Arizona Multihousing Association (AMA) was successful in moving key legislation forward.
VIRTUAL COURT MADE PERMANENT The AMA was focused on making one COVID-related policy permanent. Nearly a year ago, in response to the
pandemic, Arizona courts ended in-person appearances for eviction matters and moved all the hearings to a video or telephonic court system. Though the initial rollout had some technical challenges, it soon became clear that remote or “virtual” court appearances could be beneficial to renters who no longer needed to take time away from their daily responsibilities to appear in person at the actual courthouse. While some opponents initially expressed concern over access for lowincome renters, the data quickly proved that the digital divide is not nearly as large as some perceived thanks to the ubiquitous use of smartphones. According to the National Center for State Courts, going virtual has enabled greater participation in the justice system, with New Jersey seeing its 20% Failure to Appear rate drop to zero, and Michigan seeing its 89% appearance rate increase to 100% after the adoption of online court appearances.
