The EDDP is a uniquely extensive eviction-prevention effort in Wisconsin. Unlike residents of Dane County, most renters facing eviction in Wisconsin are funneled through the eviction process at a rapid pace without access to case management services, large rental assistance programs, legal representation, or other services Tenant Resource Center is able to offer to support tenants.
To better understand the impact of these interventions, this article examines 2024’s eviction filings and outcomes for the ten most populous counties in Wisconsin.
Comparing Eviction Judgments
More than half (52%) of all evictions outside of Dane County resulted in judgments of eviction; 17% of evictions in Dane County ended in judgments. The vast majority of cases in Dane County were dismissed due to the efforts of the EDDP.
Stipulated Dismissal Agreements
Dane County saw on average more than three times as many stipulated dismissal agreements as other counties. This disparity is in large part due to the higher rates of mediation services available and legal representation in Dane County to assist tenants with negotiating more equitable arrangements to avoid eviction.
Eviction Filing Rates
Only two counties - Outagamie and Waukesha - had a lower eviction rate than Dane County. In Dane County, 2.7% of renters had an eviction filed against them. In Milwaukee County 6.4% of renters faced eviction.
Default Judgments
In the other nine counties, 45% of evictions resulted in default judgments, where a landlord received the judgment due to non-appearance of the tenant at the eviction hearing or trial date. In Dane County, however, only 15% of evictions ended in default judgments - the lowest rate among the most populous counties. Marathon County had the second lowest rate with 26% of evictions ending in defaults. Tenant outreach and court navigation services, such as those offered by the EDDP, are essential to reducing the number of cases that end in default. Missing a single court date can have devastating consequences on a household. The EDDP attempts to contact every household that receives an eviction filing before each of their court dates, places calls to tenants to remind them to appear at the time of their court date, and provides information about the outcomes of their hearings following hearings.
Evictions in Total
19,815 evictions were filed this last year in the ten most populous counties in Wisconsin. This accounts for nearly 4% of all renters in these communities. Milwaukee had by far the most evictions filed, with an estimated 12,083 evictions filed and more than 3,000 cases resulting in judgments of eviction.
In all, this analysis underscores the importance and efficacy of programs like the EDDP in preventing evictions and keeping renters safely in their homes. The data shows that without these services housing stability suffers greatly. Assuming there isn’t major federal investments or local investments in rental assistance funding, communities around the state will be best served by funding programs that facilitate alternative methods of dispute resolution to the eviction process. These programs include those that provide mediation services, short-term case management, resource navigation, and a focus on improving housing stability over longer periods of time. Without the intervention of programs such as these, households face an up-hill battle to maintain stable housing.
Methodology
Eviction data was gathered from Wisconsin’s Consolidated Court Access Program (CCAP) and then select terms were captured from case captions to determine outcomes. The figures in this article are estimates, though a small number of commercial properties, cases erroneously labeled as evictions by the court, and outcomes that were labeled incorrectly may impact the data. The results of this analysis were compared to the Tenant Resource Center’s eviction data for Dane County and Eviction Lab’s data to evaluate the accuracy of this method.