MILWAUKEE (SPECTRUM NEWS) — Heiner Giese is the attorney representing the Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin.

He’s also a landlord and said the likelihood that eviction rates will go up as the pandemic continues is high.

“One thing that concerns us going forward is if tenants can’t pay their rent, if evictions are the last resort which they certainly are, what will happen to Milwaukee’s housing stock,” Giese said. “I’m working with three tenants that have worked at different places and got furloughed, or laid off and I’m waiting for their aid to come through.”

Giese looked up eviction statistics for June and July to compare them to 2019. Though July is down 21%, June went up 26% compared to last year.

Senate Democrats have proposed a nationwide moratorium on evictions. Giese said Wisconsin landlords will not be able to sustain that.

“It just isn’t going to be fair,” he said. “It would apply to anybody regardless if they’ve had any kind of harm during COVID 19 and totally banning evictions isn’t an answer because there are a certain subset of people who take advantage of this.”

Wisconsin’s statewide moratorium ended May 26. Renters like Wyconda Clayton now have to face the looming threat of eviction. Clayton’s landlord has documented $3,200 she owes in rent, plus $200 in fees. 

“I understand they have bills too but, we are working day by day,” she said. “We’re living day by day, check to check and I’m trying to make everything work out.”

Clayton said she filed for unemployment in April after her hours as a home health aid were cut back to about 17 hours per week due to the pandemic.

“I’m still waiting for that and I still haven’t received my stimulus check,” she said.

She said her check went to an old address and it still has yet to be forwarded to her.

Clayton also had to take care of her ailing mother earlier in the year, forcing her to cut back on her work hours even more. Her mom has since passed.

“Thinking about not being able to talk to her anymore, it’s hard,” she said, through tears.

Wyconda has been working with the Milwaukee Autonomous Tenants Union (MATU). The advocacy group has been dealing with almost exclusively evictions since its inception in March.

“Evictions follow you and make it more difficult to get housing in the future so, in Wyconda’s case, she has two or three in the past that she’s already satisfied so that’s one of our demands is for the landlord to sign the paperwork to get that off of her record,” said Jason Geils of MATU.  “Drop the current eviction and come up with a payment plan that’s reasonable.”

Jackie Clark is an organizer for MATU as well. She said she got involved after being homeless herself and going through the eviction process.

“If we had a tenants court and legal representation for the tenants, I think a lot of negotiation could be done in that way where some of these fees can be waived,” Clark said. “This pandemic has placed everyone in such a position that we don’t even know which way is the proper way.”

Clayton’s court date for her most recent eviction notice is on August 9 via Zoom.