Tracking Milwaukee Evictions

Branden DuPont

Medical College of Wisconsin

Eviction Database Background

• Eviction database developed as a joint partnership
• Common Council and City, Alderman Kovac in particular for sponsoring the development of this work
• Stemmed from the need to identify basic eviction data
• Created to inform the public and to identify trends and patterns to aid in resolution of systemic issues

Eviction as a Social Determinant of Health

• Displacement
• Children

  • Education – Increased absences due to instability or school changes due to relocation

  • Direct correlation between ER visits for children and housing instability

• Adults

  • Education

  • Employment

    • Difficulty getting new job without permanent address

    • Risk of losing current job due to housing instability, relocation, transportation, etc.

• Health

  • Housing conditions (worsened by cycle of eviction) like lack of heat, mold, infestations, etc. lead to health issues

  • Mental Health (perceptions of procedural fairness)

• Family

  • Families can be separated or forced into unsafe housing conditions due to housing instability

  • Neighborhoods see increased crime in areas with high turnover and lack of community

The Justice Gap

• How many evictions in Milwaukee County per year?
  • 13,985 in 2018 | 14,077 in 2017 | 13,457 in 2016
• Approximately 34,000 people impacted by eviction in 2018
• How often are landlords represented by counsel?
  • In 2016, slightly more than 50% of landlords were represented by an attorney
• How many tenants had representation in 2016?
  • Less than 1% of tenants in eviction filings, 112 out of 13,457, were represented by counsel in 2016
• This data has, historically, been unavailable to the general public

Milwaukee Policymakers, Researchers, & Community Members Need Eviction Data

• Difficult to understand drivers of eviction and design prevention strategies
• Community unable to view a properties eviction record
• Conducting additional research prohibitive

 Datashare @ MCW IHE = Local IDS

What Was Built

• Automated database that maintains Milwaukee eviction records
• Pipeline that assigns evictions to an address and taxkey
• Series of visualizations on aggregate eviction metrics
• Parcel level map of eviction filings
• Eviction records with building code violations issued within 90 days as well as open at the time of filing

Consider a Basic Question on Eviction

• "He'll evict you in a minute" - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Youssef "Joe" Berrada's Use of Eviction
• High eviction filing rate or does Berrada just own a large number of properties?

Data Needed To Construct an Eviction Filing Rate

• Court records on eviction - small claims case
• Address the eviction took place
• Taxkey information for that address
• The number of units at that property
• The primary land use of the property (multi-family or single-two family)

Reception

• Featured in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Next City, & The Sunlight Foundation
• Viz Interactions > 70,000
• Article Shared publicly > 670

Outcomes & Policy Changes

• Provide stakeholders with a key source of data to inform housing policy and understand drivers of eviction
  • DCD, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Eviction Prevention Coalition,
• Understand relationship between habitability of rental housing and evictions

What's Next

• More nuanced, ongoing understanding of the relationship between housing violations and evictions
• Who Own's What project localized in Milwaukee

Where Can I Find This Project?

mke-evict.com