Eviction filings by landlords in AGÕæÈË°Ù¼ÒÀÖ County are the highest they’ve been since at least 2020, according to data from the Eviction Lab, a research group at Princeton University.
Austin, like many cities, had an eviction moratorium in place at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. But that protective measure was lifted in late 2021. By March 2022, eviction filings started to return to pre-pandemic levels, .
"A lot of times, the laws that we have in place, the protections we have for renters, the resources that we have, those are things that can matter as much or even more than affordability levels,� said Juan Pablo Garnham, the audience and community engagement editor for the Eviction Lab.
Garnham said he’s seen an uptick in filings in the Austin area over the last several months.
“We are in a place that looks much worse than the previous years, it seems,� he said.
An eviction filing does not mean a renter was evicted, but that a judge has to rule on the case. Eviction Lab data show that 1,125 landlords filed to evict their tenants in July 2024. In July 2025, landlords made 1,300 filings.
Shoshana Krieger, project director for the nonprofit Building and Strengthening Tenant Action, or BASTA, works with renters facing eviction and other housing issues.
She said a combination of rising rent prices and a scaling back of protections for renters has contributed to the increase in eviction filings. Austin's median family income has significantly increased in the past 10 years, driving rent prices up, Krieger said.
According to city of Austin data, in 2015, the median family income for a family of four in the Austin-area was . In 2025, it's grown to .
“What happens is we have these very high-income folks coming in, like tech workers, and that skews what is considered affordable,� Krieger said. "This impacts our lower-income people, where their wages or income hasn't grown at the same rate.�
Krieger said a policy that would allow tenants to work with landlords to catch up on rent, or find other solutions before they are evicted, could go a long way.
“Because people are so on the margins, one little thing can push them over,� Krieger said. “If we can intervene in those moments, there is a much better chance we can stabilize.�
