DHA Statement of Eviction Diversion

The Durham Housing Authority has recognized that there is an eviction crisis in Durham and across the country. As a result, our Board of Commissioners instructed staff to address the root causes of our evictions, to reach out to fellow housing authorities, to suggest operational improvements, and to suggest policy changes in line with the controlling regulations from HUD. 

Therefore, in August 2019, DHA instituted new policies and procedures to prevent filings for eviction that could lead to a family losing their home. DHA made these changes with an emphasis on preventing the initial filing action and to give every resident who is unable to pay their rent an opportunity to work out an agreement to pay their rent in full over time. Since the institution of these new policies, eviction filings have decreased by approximately half.  

These policy changes can be found on DHA's website

Policy changes include:
1. Additional Information for all residents on how to avoid an eviction filing,
2. A review of each case prefiling by our newly hired in-house legal counsel,
3. Developing an eviction prevention pilot program for high-risk families,
4. Training DHA staff on new protocols,
5. Increasing rent payment options,
6. Advocating for state law policy changes that would expunge eviction cases that never reach court judgment.

Under these new policies:  

IF ANY DHA RESIDENT IS UNABLE TO PAY RENT, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR DHA MANAGEMENT OFFICE OR RESIDENT SERVICES TO AVOID AN EVICTION FILING. THIS OPTION IS AVAILABLE NOT JUST DURING THE HOLIDAYS OR WINTER MONTHS BUT ALL YEAR LONG.

We ask the community to please join us in encourage residents to contact out offices to work out rental payments to avoid future eviction filings.