Over 86% of households facing eviction in the past 3 months had their cases dismissed due to the efforts of the EDDP.

New eviction filings slowed in Dane County this past quarter, but court activity and court dates reached a post-pandemic high, according to the latest eviction court data. This suggests that the slight decrease in new filings is at least, in part, explained by increasing numbers of cases that are ongoing through the eviction process.

Between April 1st and June 30th, landlords filed for eviction 590 times against 578 unique households, a 14 percent decrease from the record number of evictions filed in the first three months of the year. However, at least 774 unique tenants were summoned to an eviction proceeding, a jump from the previous quarter when 727 tenants were involved in eviction proceedings.

In all, tenants were summoned to attend a record 1,020 initial hearings, 58 trials, and 6 motion hearings in the second quarter of this year.

Despite the increase in court activity, the vast majority (86%) of evictions this quarter were still ultimately dismissed due to the efforts of the EDDP program and its partners. Many cases were dismissed after the parties reached an agreement in court (40%) or after the past-due rent was paid in full (28%).

This quarter, there was an increase in default judgements where a tenant fails to appear to court. Of the 74 judgements this past quarter, only 8 were awarded by a judge after a trial. The remaining 66 judgments were defaults at a hearing or trial.

EDDP partner attorneys provided no-cost legal representation in 29% of all hearings and trials this quarter. Landlords enjoyed an advantage in legal representation with 55% of all hearings and trials being represented by an attorney.