Virginia, IKEA commit $4M for eviction assistance
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Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced on Monday afternoon that Virginia and the retail store IKEA have partnered to create a $4 million fund to hire 20 attorneys to assist Virginians during the eviction process. An eviction ban is in place until Sept. 7, and state leaders have been working to implement programs to keep people from losing their homes.
An initial moratorium on evictions expired in July, flooding local courtrooms with eviction cases. Northam said that 10,000 eviction cases were docketed in courts across Virginia between mid-July and August. The Virginia Poverty Law Center predicted that more than 230,000 cases for eviction could be filed by the end of 2020. In Henrico, as of earlier this month, there were more than 600 unlawful detainer hearings scheduled between July 26 and Sept. 14. Unlawful detainer filings are the first step in the eviction process.
In early August, Northam asked the Supreme Court of Virginia to issue another moratorium, which it granted until Sept. 7, in order for the state to have time to prepare their rent relief programs.
“I am grateful to the Virginia Supreme Court for granting this order,” Northam said at the time. “I look forward to working with the General Assembly this month to develop more permanent legislative protections for Virginia homeowners and tenants.”
The General Assembly is currently holding a special session to work through several pieces of legislation involving evictions and rent relief.
On Monday, Northam said that defendants in eviction proceedings with legal representation are twice as likely to receive a favorable outcome.
“Easy access to reliable legal information and advice can make all the difference for a tenant faced with potential eviction,” Virginia Poverty Law Center officials said in a statement. “Virginia is suffering an eviction crisis among the worst in the nation.”
The program to hire the 20 eviction attorneys is being funded with $2 million from IKEA and $2 million from Virginia, specifically from Virginia’s CARES Act funding.
IKEA has stores in Norfolk and Woodbridge and employs approximately 550 Virginians, Northam said. However, the company closed down at the beginning of the pandemic in order to slow the spread of COVID-19, leaving all of those employees to rely on the unemployment program.
“We are appreciative of the ongoing support from the Commonwealth of Virginia, including the unemployment funds paid to our co-workers who were furloughed in the early weeks of the pandemic,” said Javier Quiñones, IKEA Retail U.S. president. “People are the heart of our business, and these unemployment benefits helped IKEA U.S. co-workers during a difficult time. We now have a better understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on our business, and we’ve decided to pay it forward to support the ongoing relief efforts in our local communities.”
When IKEA asked his office where the money would be needed the most, Northam said it took him no time at all to respond: the housing crisis.
“We are deeply grateful to IKEA for this generous donation that, coupled with money from the COVID-19 Relief Fund and other federal resources, will help more Virginians stay in their homes as we fight this virus,” Northam said. “In an unprecedented crisis and financial uncertainty, we must be able to get relief to vulnerable populations quickly and efficiently—this additional funding will make that possible.”
The program will be implemented in coordination with the Legal Services Corporation of Virginia, which will fund and oversee the work of nine regional Legal Aid programs and the VPLC, which provides services to low-income Virginians.
“I commend my colleagues in the General Assembly, the governor, and IKEA for this important and meaningful partnership to help keep Virginians housed and in their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Virginia Legislative Black Caucus Chairman Del. Lamont Bagby (D-74, Henrico). “Expanding the accessibility of legal support is key to protecting tenant rights and preventing evictions. It is a larger piece of a multi-faceted approach our Commonwealth should be adopting in order to address these underlying systemic issues related to evictions and housing.
“With Black and Brown people being disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and evictions, we must ensure that these inequities aren’t being exacerbated by evictions occurring in the middle of a global health crisis.”
Paige Perriello, a Virginia political activist, said the news was welcome but that it might not have been necessary if the eviction freeze were extended.
“I'm all for the amazing lawyers getting supported who are doing critical eviction work,” Perriello said, "but if we had an eviction moratorium and rent relief we might not need so much legal support.”
