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27 Desmond, Professor of Sociology at Princeton University and author of the Pulitzer Prize winning book, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, emphasizes the importance of addressing both formal and informal evictions.83 The Milwaukee Area Renters Study (MARS) found that informal evictions accounted for twice as many forced moves as formal evictions.84 Recent studies of eviction trends in Minneapolis and Greater Minnesota have focused exclusively on formal eviction, citing a lack of data sources tracking nonrenewals or lease terminations. According to a 2016 report, over 3,000 evictions are filed in Minneapolis each year.85 Another report found that approximately 16,000 evictions were filed in Minnesota in 2017.86 Anecdotal evidence suggests that the prevalence of lease terminations and nonrenewals in the metro area would mirror the findings of the MARS study.87 In addition to the quantitative data, qualitative data from legal services agencies also bear out the need to consider extending good cause protections to the private market. In 2015, the Crossroads Apartment complex in Richfield, a multi-building community with almost 700 households, was sold. All residents were given notice that their leases would not be renewed, but they were told that they could reapply under the new screening criteria. Residents who had been lease compliant and were able to afford the new rents were denied the ability to stay in their apartments because they were not able to meet new credit or rental history standards. Legal services staff have also relayed stories of retaliatory nonrenewal notices because of tenants contacting inspections or requesting repairs be made. While there are anti-retaliation laws in Minnesota’s housing statutes, they are only able to be raised as a defense to an eviction action being filed. In other words, in order for a tenant to claim that a nonrenewal was due to retaliation, they would need to stay past the vacate date (hold over), have an eviction action filed against them, and then appear in court to raise retaliation as a defense to the eviction. According to legal services staff, most tenants are not willing to risk an eviction on their record in order to raise a retaliation defense, and instead simply move out. The City’s Role in the Process Where cities choose to extend just cause protections to tenants, they are simply adopting an ordinance that sets the standard for determining good cause (valid reasons for lease termination). In any given eviction case, the City plays no role in determining just cause. In the event the tenant and landlord cannot ultimately agree on a resolution, it is up to the local eviction court to 83 Andrew Flowers, How We Undercounted Evictions by Asking the Wrong Questions, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT (Sept. 15, 2016, 10:02 AM), https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-we- undercounted-evictions-by-asking-the-wrong-questions/ 84 Andrew Flowers, How We Undercounted Evictions by Asking the Wrong Questions, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT (Sept. 15, 2016, 10:02 AM), https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-we- undercounted-evictions-by-asking-the-wrong-questions/ 85 MINNEAPOLIS INNOVATION TEAM, EVICTIONS IN MINNEAPOLIS 2 (2016). http://innovateminneapolis.com/documents/Evictions in Minneapolis Report.pdf 86 HOME LINE, EVICTIONS IN GREATER MINNESOTA 2 (2018). https://homelinemn.org/wp- content/uploads/2018/06/Evictions-in-Greater-Minnesota-Report-with-Appendix.pdf 87 HOME LINE, EVICTIONS IN GREATER MINNESOTA 4 (2018). https://homelinemn.org/wp- content/uploads/2018/06/Evictions-in-Greater-Minnesota-Report-with-Appendix.pdf