In his book Eviction, Matthew Desmond writes a nonfiction analysis of one of the poorest neighborhoods in Milwaukee, WI, specifically focusing on the strains that rent places on low income families, as well as their landlords. In the Prologue, Desmond draws the reader's’ attention to the fact that the “majority of poor renting families in America spend over half their income on housing, and at least one in four dedicates over 70 percent to paying the rent and keeping the lights on” (4). When such a huge proportion of a family’s income is allocated to housing that is barely “fit for human habitation,” eviction is a relatively common occurrence in impoverished cities like Milwaukee. Desmond tracks the lives of of eight families over the course
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Despite buying Arleen groceries upon her arrival, Sherrena was unable to cut Arleen any slack when Arleen’s welfare checks could no longer pay the bills. Chapter Eight, titled “Christmas in Room 400” opens with the line “Sherrena decided to evict Arleen,” stating that the eviction was due to a deficit of $840 (94). Arleen’s family was going to lose their home over the price of a flight from New York to Europe, or a used laptop. Arleen and Sherrena’s court date was issued for a few days before Christmas. Desmond describes the scene, noting that the Milwaukee Small Claims Court is the busiest courtroom in the state. He describes the racial divide of the white lawyers seated apart from their black and Hispanic defendants, as well as the clear state of poverty that the tenants are existing in. He writes, “Tenants in eviction court were generally poor, and almost all of them (92 percent) had missed rent payments” (97). Showing up in court at all is often a challenge for tenants, but not appearing in court results in a default eviction …show more content…
While Arleen understands the eviction process well, Sherrena is nothing short of an expert. Both women undergo the process as if it were routine, and not something that could result in a family being thrown out on the street. Arleen, like most tenants, is being sued twice– once for late rent fees and again for property damage. The latter is complicated, because it requires landlords like Sherrena to estimate how much a broken window costs them, as well as automatically places the responsibility of property upkeep on the tenant, and ignoring external
Despite buying Arleen groceries upon her arrival, Sherrena was unable to cut Arleen any slack when Arleen’s welfare checks could no longer pay the bills. Chapter Eight, titled “Christmas in Room 400” opens with the line “Sherrena decided to evict Arleen,” stating that the eviction was due to a deficit of $840 (94). Arleen’s family was going to lose their home over the price of a flight from New York to Europe, or a used laptop. Arleen and Sherrena’s court date was issued for a few days before Christmas. Desmond describes the scene, noting that the Milwaukee Small Claims Court is the busiest courtroom in the state. He describes the racial divide of the white lawyers seated apart from their black and Hispanic defendants, as well as the clear state of poverty that the tenants are existing in. He writes, “Tenants in eviction court were generally poor, and almost all of them (92 percent) had missed rent payments” (97). Showing up in court at all is often a challenge for tenants, but not appearing in court results in a default eviction …show more content…
While Arleen understands the eviction process well, Sherrena is nothing short of an expert. Both women undergo the process as if it were routine, and not something that could result in a family being thrown out on the street. Arleen, like most tenants, is being sued twice– once for late rent fees and again for property damage. The latter is complicated, because it requires landlords like Sherrena to estimate how much a broken window costs them, as well as automatically places the responsibility of property upkeep on the tenant, and ignoring external