Dreading the Constable's Knock

Phoenix is the eviction capital of the US where Tenants Dread the Constable's Knock.

On a recent afternoon, Rhys Torres crossed a partly shaded courtyard to a white stucco building. He tapped on a door and a woman in a fleece zip-up and sweatpants appeared.

"I understand what you're here for," she said. "You can come in." But she began to panic in the cramped living room that held a bed. "I can't breathe," she said.

"Take a slow breath," Torres told her. "We're good. We'll give you some time."

That meant about 10 minutes. It was enough time to put together an overnight bag with a few essentials, and Torres told the woman she could come back for bigger items later.

Phoenix has emerged from the pandemic as one of America's eviction capitals. Among U.S. cities, counties or metro areas for which regular data is available, Maricopa County holds one of the highest eviction rates, at 16 filings per 100 renter households during the past year, according to Eviction Lab, a research group at Princeton University that tracks evictions in 35 U.S. cities and 10 states.

Apartment rents in Phoenix rose about 35% from 2019 to 2023, and home sale prices went up more. Both have cooled somewhat recently, but not enough to make a difference for Maricopa County's population of 4.6 million, which has grown by more than 20% since 2010. Rising rents are one reason Phoenix had the country's highest increase in overall inflation two years ago.

Anxiety over housing costs is especially strong in this election swing state.

"I got half of it. I'm working hard on it," said another tenant who had taken on extra work for DoorDash. 

Judges allow time for these explanations, but only for so long. There is in the end only one question, and it can most often be answered with yes or no: Did you pay rent? If the answer is no, that usually ends the hearing. The landlord wins the eviction.