HIGHLIGHTS

• In just 5 years, median rents have risen by 11% in the region. 

• St. Louis City and County have 25,345 households that are behind on rent, with an average rent debt of $2,725 per household. 

• There were nearly 18,000 evictions in St. Louis City and County in 2019 and 2020. 

• 37% of evictions are in unincorporated Saint Louis County. 

• Eviction rates were reduced by 70% between 2019 and 2020, in large part due to local and federal eviction moratoriums during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overview

Affordable housing preservation is achieved when displacement of existing low-income residents is prevented. Displacement is when residents are forced to move from their homes through formal or informal evictions for renters or foreclosures and tax sales for homeowners.

In this section we will discuss our ability to measure displacement and the impact of prevention efforts in terms of:

1. Rising Rents 

2. Evictions

3. Foreclosures

4. Tax Sales

5. Rental, Mortgage, and Utility Assistance

6. Property Tax Relief

7. Community Ownership

Rising Rents

Rapidly rising rents are an indicator that housing displacement of lower-income households may be occurring.

Overall, rents have risen 11% in both St. Louis City and County in 5 years, with the biggest increases for the smallest units. Median rent for studios went up 18-20%, followed by a 14% price increase for 1-bedrooms.

There were 18 census tracts in which median rent increased by more than 30% during a 5-year period. The areas in the County where the most rapidly rising rents are occurring include:

• Parts of unincorporated South County

• Central Corridor: Webster Groves, Des Peres, Frontenac

• North County: Florissant, Ferguson, Bel-Nor

• West County: Manchester, Valley Park, Earth City

The three neighborhoods in the City where the most rapidly rising rents are occurring include: 

• Holly Hills

• Lafayette Square

• Benton Park

Evictions

An eviction is when a landlord forces a tenant to move out of a property before the end of their lease, typically due to non-payment or incomplete payment of rent owed. A formal eviction is a legal process where the landlord files for permission to remove a tenant in housing court, typically for nonpayment of rent. Informal or “off-the-books” evictions are when a landlord uses extralegal means to move out a tenant, from intimidation and not making needed repairs to more direct actions such as changing the locks or removing tenant possessions from the property. 

We can measure whether policies or programs have prevented any displacement by tracking evictions over time. Formal evictions are recorded in court as eviction filings, however, there is no data created during an informal eviction. For this reason, the data available will be an undercount of evictions. Since the federal and local eviction moratorium of 2020-2021 has delayed eviction filings by landlords, we chose to include eviction data for 2019. 

In 2019, there were 64 evictions for every 1,000 renter-occupied households in the St. Louis region. In 2020, there were 19 evictions for every 1,000 renter-occupied households. 

Across these two years, there were a total of 17,839 residential eviction filings in the region, of which 67% were of Saint Louis County households. Throughout the region, local and federal eviction moratoriums reduced eviction rates by 70% in 2020. County renters are slightly more likely to be evicted than City renters.

Evictions are common throughout North Saint Louis County, which has a majority-black population. Evictions are most prevalent in the following County municipalities:

1. Unincorporated Saint Louis County - 37% of the region’s residential evictions

2. Florissant - 9% of evictions

3. Hazelwood - 7% of evictions

4. Ferguson - 5% of evictions

5. Maryland Heights - 4% of evictions

6. Jennings, University City, St. Ann - Each have 3% of evictions

In the City, evictions are most common in the 63118 zip code which encompasses the neighborhoods of Benton Park, Gravois Park, Tower Grove East, and Dutchtown. 3.8% of the region’s evictions are filed in this area. 

Foreclosures

A foreclosure is when the bank or lender files a notice of default on a property on which a borrower stops making mortgage payments. When a loan becomes delinquent, a lender will repossess and sell the property in order to recoup the balance of the loan. Borrowers facing foreclosure typically have had a significant change in financial circumstances due to loss of income or a large, unexpected expense such as a medical emergency. 

We can measure whether policies or programs have prevented any displacement by tracking foreclosures over time. 

There were 1,884 foreclosures in St. Louis City and County in 2019 and 2020. In 2019, there were 4.1 foreclosures for every 1,000 owner-occupied households in the St. Louis region. While Saint Louis County has 78% of the region’s foreclosures, it actually has a lower foreclosure rate since there are so many more homeowners in Saint Louis County than in St. Louis City.

In 2019 and 2020, foreclosures were most prevalent in the following County municipalities:

1. Unincorporated Saint Louis County - 36% of the region’s residential foreclosures

2. Florissant - 9% of foreclosures

3. Ferguson - 5% of foreclosures

4. University City - 4% of foreclosures

5. Bellefontaine Neighbors - 4% of foreclosures

In the City, foreclosures were most common in the 63116 zip code which encompasses the neighborhoods of Tower Grove South, Bevo Mill, Dutchtown, Holly Hills, and Boulevard Heights. 4% of the region’s foreclosures are filed in this area. 

Tax Sales

Tax sales are when local governments auction off the liens on properties whose owners are delinquent on property taxes. At minimum, a successful bidder is required to pay off the property taxes owed and any other debts or fees in order to receive the property deed. The City conducts tax sales four times per year (in June, July, August, and September) on properties that have had a tax suit filed at least one year, while the County conducts them once a year on properties that are at least three years delinquent. If a property owner is able to pay off the tax debt in advance the property will be taken out of the tax sale in a process called redemption.   

We can measure whether policies or programs have prevented any displacement by tracking tax sales or tax sale redemptions over time. While the City and County publish online lists of properties that are in the upcoming tax sales, this data is not available on a permanent basis. 

Rental, Mortgage, and Utility Assistance

Housing assistance programs pay off tenant or homeowner debts to landlords, lenders, and utility companies. Local assistance programs are primarily focused on renters and are being administered by many different government and nonprofit entities throughout the St. Louis region. New rental, mortgage, and utility assistance funds have become available from the federal government in response to COVID-19 which are designed for low-income residents who can document their incomes being negatively impacted by the pandemic. 

According to 2-1-1 Counts, a collaboration between United Way 2-1-1 and Washington University’s Health Communications Research Lab, 75% of all calls to 211 in St. Louis City and County were for housing, shelter, or utility assistance in 2020. There were over 32,000 calls for utility assistance, 17,000 for rent assistance, and 1,400 for mortgage assistance. 

The National Equity Atlas’s Rent Debt in America research uses Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey to estimate that as of July 5, 2021 St. Louis City and County have 25,345 households that are behind on rent, with an average rent debt of $2,725 per household. 

It is difficult to assess the number of recipients and the amount of aid being administered across so many providers. measure whether rental and mortgage assistance programs have prevented any displacement by tracking evictions and foreclosures over time. We recommend City and County to collect and report data disaggregated by race and geography for rental and mortgage assistance applicants and recipients.

Property Tax Relief

Homeowners who are over 65 or are persons with disabilities can apply for the Missouri Property Tax Credit Claim (also known as Circuit Breaker), which refunds up to $1,100 of real estate taxes. To be eligible, homeowners must occupy their home year-round and have an income of $30,000 or less for a single person, or $34,000 or less for a household. Elderly or disabled renters with incomes of $27,500 or less for a single person or $29,500 or less for a household can also apply for rent rebates, up to $750 per year. 

According to the Missouri Department of Revenue, our region in total received $12.6 million dollars across 19,249 households in 2019.  The average recipient received a refund of $660. 

Recipients were:

• 25% homeowners

• 75% renters

• 40% elderly (65 or older)

• 56% disabled

• 2% disabled veterans

In 2019, the zip codes that receive the most funds from the Circuit Breaker program in St. Louis City and County are:

1. 63136 - Jennings and Ferguson - 9.5% of the regional total

2. 63116 - Bevo Mill, Dutchtown, Holly Hills - 5.1% of regional total

3. 63121 - Normandy - 4.5% of regional total

4. 63033 - Florissant - 4.2% of regional total

5. 63111 - Carondelet, Patch, Mt. Pleasant - 3.8% of regional total

Community Ownership

There is a handful of Community Land Trusts that provide affordable housing underway or in progress in the St. Louis region. Their current status is as follows:

• 24:1 Community Land Trust in North Saint Louis County was originally set up and run by Beyond Housing, now operating as Equity Homes with a noncontiguous land model. 

• ArtPlace Community Land Trust in Gravois Park, St. Louis City is a new nonprofit with the mission to redevelop properties into affordable for-sale housing for artists, in response to a recommendation within the Gravois-Jefferson Neighborhood Plan. Initial funding comes from Incarnate Word Foundation, RAC, and Kranzberg. They will be experimenting with different models with art spaces, short-term artist residencies, and galleries under consideration. 

• North Webster Land Trust in Webster Groves - Webster Groves council members are developing a community land trust in a historically black neighborhood in Webster Groves, with hopes that the city turns over vacant lots to the Trust to start. 

• The Green City Coalition is in the process of hiring an Executive Director for its Community Land Trust based in the neighborhoods of College Hill, Baden, Walnut Park, and Wells Goodfellow. Parcels from the SLDC’s Land Reutilization Authority will be transferred to the Community Land Trust.

Data Recommendations:

In order to better measure the prevention of displacement, we recommend...

• The City’s Collector of Revenue publishes data about the number of property tax suits filed, the amount owed, and the number of tax sales completed in their Open Data Portal.  

• City and County governments report the number of applicants and recipients of rental or mortgage assistance, disaggregated by race and geography. 

• The Missouri Department of Revenue reports the number of applicants and recipients of property tax relief programs, disaggregated by race and geography.

• The Community Builders Network begin tracking the number of affordable housing units protected through community ownership models.