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This story is part of The Extended Stay Trap, a series that unpacks the overlapping challenges keeping families in Clayton County—and across Georgia—stuck in extended-stay motels when they want safe, stable homes.
Clayton County residents Tanisha Moreno and her mother, Elizabeth Miller, are struggling to rent apartments for their families right now. One major obstacle is that both have evictions on their records, so most landlords reject their applications.
The Clayton County Magistrate Court, which handles eviction cases, is working on new strategies with local housing advocates and legal nonprofits to keep people’s records eviction-free.
Bringing compassion to the courtroom
Clayton has one of the highest eviction rates of any county in Georgia, with landlords filing about 150 eviction cases every week. Legal experts say many people facing evictions may have recently lost a job or a family member, been in an accident, or just didn’t understand their rights and responsibilities as a tenant.
When Keisha Wright Hill became Clayton’s chief magistrate judge in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, she looked at the rapidly accumulating backlog of eviction cases and decided there had to be a better way to deal with some of the evictions that came before her.
Many of the cases aren’t black and white, Wright Hill explained. A family member who contributed to rent payments may suddenly die, or a tenant may get paid irregularly; they have the money, but a few days late.
Mediation could be a faster, better way to resolve these cases for tenants, landlords, and the magistrate court, Wright Hill decided. It could give the tenant another chance, keep the landlord from having to find a new renter, and reduce the court’s steep case backlog.
“It’s a win-win-win – for the landlord, for the tenants to be able to keep a roof over their head, and for the courts to be able to get through the backlog.”
Keisha Wright Hill, chief magistrate judge, Clayton Co.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Clayton County Magistrate Court used county and federal funds to start an eviction mediation program. Either landlords or tenants can choose to use it, instead of going to court.
“It opens up the door to try to resolve the matter without having individuals and families evicted,” Wright Hill said. For eviction filings that go to court, she explained, the judgement is likely to be to evict. That gives the tenant just seven days to vacate their apartment.
“It’s a win-win-win – for the landlord, for the tenants to be able to keep a roof over their head, and for the courts to be able to get through the backlog,” the judge said.
Clayton’s mediation program has proved very successful. About 70% of the eviction cases that go to mediation get resolved without going to court. What’s more, the program is self-sustaining, thanks to a 2024 Georgia law that authorizes the Clayton County Magistrate Court to use $5 of every $50 eviction filing fee to fund it.
Clearing the record
But even for eviction cases that are resolved in mediation, the landlord’s eviction notice stays on the tenant’s record if it was filed before mediation. That holds true even if the landlord and tenant resolve their dispute, or if the eviction filing was an error.
Removing those eviction notices from people’s public records is one way to help families get an apartment, said former Atlanta Legal Aid lawyer Lindsey Siegel, who handled tenant rights and eviction cases for many years.
To do that right now, people must go to court and persuade a judge. Wright Hill and local housing law advocates are working on statewide legislation that would make it easier for tenants to get evictions expunged from their records – and also prevent landlords from denying applicants over an eviction notice that was filed, but never carried out.
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The Extended Stay Trap
An in-depth exploration of the overlapping challenges keeping Atlanta families stuck in extended-stay motels.
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An ounce of prevention
To help prevent evictions before they happen, the Clayton County Magistrate Court is doing community outreach to educate tenants, property managers, and landlords about their rights and responsibilities.
Wright Hill and her court’s mediation coordinator, Diann Shahid, hold regular community engagement sessions. They hold some at extended-stay hotels and local public schools, through a partnership with Clayton County Public Schools. What’s more the court notifies the school system of any eviction cases that involve tenants with children, so it can connect the family to social services.
One common misunderstanding for tenants, the judge said, is that in Georgia they cannot withhold rent to try and force their landlord to make repairs. Tenants who do often get evicted. But withholding rent for repairs is legal in many other states, which can cause confusion for many Georgians.
Landlords and property managers also need educating on what they are and aren’t allowed to do, Wright Hill added. For instance, the 2024 Safe at Home Act requires landlords in Georgia to keep apartments in a fit condition for human habitation. It also prohibits landlords from requiring more than three months advance rent as a security deposit.
But the two Clayton moms, Moreno and Miller, say they have had landlords violate both requirements. Even though the new law went into effect last year, Wright Hill and Shahid said they’ve handled cases where landlords were negligent about maintaining apartments.
I think one of the problems is is after a person surpasses the fifth of the month. These landlords are allowed to put an enormous late fee anywhere from $50-$200 added onto rent due. Plus, they’re allowed to hand out an eviction notice. Tenants should at least have asurpasses the fifth of the month. These landlords are allowed to put a enormous late fee anywhere from $50-$200 added onto rent due. Plus, they’re allowed to hand out an eviction notice. Tenants should at the very least, be allowed a one time grace period to catch up on rent. Without a ridiculous fee.For tenants who has paid on time, haven’t been an issue & resides in home for at least one year. Should be allowed 2 times of a 2 wk catch up grace period for rent Owed. This will not only reduce evictions but also lower tenets from having to reach out to resources to help them pay their rent. Because it gives them a grace period to come up with the money on their own. I end this by stating stop making people have to show proof of three times the amount of income in order to rent a property. The average rent on a property in the state of Georgia is anywhere from $1800-$2200 a month meaning that they would have to make a minimum of $72,000 a year. When the average income in the state of Georgia is about $54,000 a year. It’s causing unnecessary homelessness. I’m willing to be part of any of this movement to help things get better here in the state of Georgia.