Norfolk presents data and local solutions as Virginia cities report rising evictions

Norfolk city officials and Virginia First Cities representatives told the Affordable Housing Solutions work group on Sept. 8 that evictions remain a significant and costly problem in many older Virginia cities, and that coordinated prevention strategies and better data are needed to reduce filings and executions.

Councilwoman Mamie Johnson described eviction as “the last level before homelessness” and gave a personal example to underscore the human impact. Kimberly Pierce, director of neighborhood services for the City of Norfolk, presented a decade of local data compiled from the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office and described the city’s Rent Ready Norfolk and Norfolk Eviction Prevention Center programs, which provide tenant and landlord education, limited financial assistance, and casework.

Pierce said Norfolk’s housing market and demographic profile make evictions a persistent risk: more than half of Norfolk’s housing units are renter-occupied; about 26% of renter households were severely cost-burdened in recent American Community Survey figures; the city’s poverty rate is about 17.3%; and Norfolk’s area median income cited in the presentation was approximately $31,009.50. Pierce said Norfolk received its first eviction prevention grant under the Virginia Eviction Reduction Pilot in January 2021 and that the city and partners have allocated a little over $3 million to eviction prevention since 2020.

Operational results and barriers: Since 2023 the Norfolk Eviction Prevention Center received 1,888 requests and provided assistance to 774 households (about 41% of applicants). Pierce said common denial reasons included incomplete documentation, funding not available at application time, landlord refusal to participate, eviction already executed, repeat assistance within 12 months, and applicants not meeting the dollar eligibility threshold. She noted that in 2025 (partial year Jan–June) Norfolk was on pace for roughly 5,000 writs ordered and that executed writs differ from filings; Norfolk’s sheriff data show writs executed on a subset of filings, highlighting the need for standardized reporting.

Policy asks: Brian Pennington, Norfolk’s legislative liaison, summarized a set of requests the city would like the commission to examine: (1) study attorney fee awards and the incidence of “junk” fees in eviction cases; (2) provide permissive authority for localities to run eviction diversion programs with landlord incentives; (3) explore mechanisms to ensure tenants in units with utilities bundled can access utility assistance programs; (4) consider stronger Commonwealth partnership and referrals for high-frequency eviction areas; and (5) standardize court data and definitions of eviction (the city estimated current local data reliability at roughly 60–75%).

Renee Pulliam (Virginia Apartment Management Association) and others pointed to existing 2023 legislation, House Bill 1836, which requires tracking of executed writs by the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia; Pulliam noted that filings (unlawful detainers) exceed executed writs and asked the commission to review whether annual reporting under HB 1836 has been completed and distributed.

Ending: The work group thanked presenters and asked staff to continue engagement; members said improved standardized court data, clearer definitions, landlord participation mechanisms, and additional state–local tools would help target resources and reduce the human and fiscal costs of eviction.