U-M researchers found that overall cases resulting in eviction orders decreased during the pandemic, boosted by Michigan’s Eviction Diversion Program.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. The Michigan Eviction Project at the University of Michigan has found that eviction cases were filed for one in every six rental housing units within Michigan in 2018. Thats an eviction filing rate of 17% according to a jointly conducted study done in partnership with Legal Services of South Central Michigan. But through data from the Michigan State Court Administrative Office, the Michigan Eviction Project found that the state already had high eviction filing rates before the pandemic and its economic fallout. An eviction filing is when a landlord files a legal complaint to begin an eviction case against their tenant. The Michigan Eviction Project made recommendations in order to reduce evictions, such as the establishment and funding of eviction diversion programs and the right to counsel for tenants across Michigan.