Davidson county’s moratorium on evictions will end on Monday, and there are over 1,500 court filings waiting for the circuit court to resume hearing cases.
Evictions stay on your civil record and follow you every time you apply for new housing. Landlords can review that record and deny you housing based on what they find.
More: Check this Metro Nashville list for a comprehensive list of utility and housing updates.
So, Legal Aid Society’s managing attorney Zac Oswald says it’s important to show up to your court date or you automatically lose.
“You can explain to the judge ‘hey these are the reasons why I’m getting evicted but I can fix it,'” he says. “Or maybe you can work something out with your landlord while you’re in court that day.”
A few weeks ago President Donald Trump announced an executive order that muddies the waters of the current state of evictions throughout the nation.
Oswald explains it’s not as helpful as people may think.
“It just basically asked the Department of Health and Human Services to look into whether or not there should be another moratorium. And it also asked the Department of Treasury and HUD to see if there was more money out there to help renters.”
The United Way is accepting applications for people needing money for utility or housing help. It comes from local COVID-19 funding Metro Nashville received from the federal CARES act.
“When you know you’re on the verge of being evicted but you haven’t started the court process yet,” Oswald says. “That’s when you need to start reaching out to community organizations to see if there is financial assistance available.”
More: Apply for COVID-19 assistance through the Nashville Response Fund
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