In 2025, the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority launched its eviction diversion program, which is designed to reduce eviction rates by connecting residents with additional support and services. The Legal Aid Justice Center, and one of its clients currently living in a CRHA property, say they’ve seen more lawsuits for low amounts, and more eviction filings at odds with CRHA’s public claims.
Back rent has been a major issue for CRHA, and other affordable and market-rate property managers, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In November 2024, CRHA reported more than $232,000 in unpaid rent at its properties. Work on the eviction diversion program began in the months following at the behest of outgoing CRHA Executive Director John Sales, aiming to help residents access resources to assist with repayment or other compliance issues like housekeeping.
“The eviction diversion program is not just for rent. I think because that is a major challenge anywhere in property management right now … people think it’s just for rent,” says TerAna Banks, CRHA director of property management and compliance manager.
Per a July 2025 outline of the process for handling late rent, CRHA sends out 30-day non-payment notices on the sixth of the month and reaches out to residents to set up a meeting. Rent is considered late at the close of business on the fifth, and an unlawful detainer for outstanding rent is filed after 60 days of non-payment.
“I think there’s a myth that you get served one notice and you’re evicted. That’s not how it works,” says Banks. “Our eviction diversion program can serve over a seven- or eight-month period sometimes. … We serve what’s called a non-payment notice every single month. That’s our policy. If you owe $10, if you owe $1,000, if you owe $5,000, you get a non-payment notice every month.”
According to Banks, CRHA is willing to work with tenants “at any time” prior to eviction.
LAJC, and at least one of its clients currently trying to catch up on CRHA rent, say the eviction diversion program is less than accessible once the tenant is taken to court.
“I have personally represented two people … [who have been] sued for eviction for one month of rent,” says Emily Smith, a housing attorney with LAJC. “I’ve been in court and seen other people that [CRHA was] entering eviction judgment against for … less than $100. They’re really going after people for very low amounts. … They’re saying, ‘Well, it’s not fair for us to let people on low rent go longer without paying than people whose rents are higher, and they’re calling it a fair housing issue.’”
Tracking non-payment amounts in rent lawsuits can be difficult, given that the amount owed is not always listed, and if a case is dismissed it is sometimes removed from the public record. Based on the data available at press time, C-VILLE found that the average principal amount of rent owed in suits filed by CRHA has steadily declined since July 2024.
“We cannot base it on a dollar amount because if a family pays $20 or if a family pays $1,000, it’s not fair to take the family that pays $1,000 to court and not the family that pays $20. We have to hold everyone to the same standard,” says Banks. “So two months behind says that we file an unlawful detainer. That’s our rule of thumb. … Our procedure is that once you have an unlawful detainer filed, you are not eligible for a repayment agreement, and that is because you’ve had months prior to reach out.”
One current tenant, who spoke to
C-VILLE anonymously and will be referred to as Rachel, says CRHA has been less willing to work with her since her court date.
“I’ve had a really, really hard time since I was in hospital at the end of last year,” she says. “I haven’t been able to catch up with everything. It’s hard when you’re on a limited income to catch up.”
CRHA’s original suit against Rachel was dismissed earlier this year. The summons shows she was taken to court for one month of her rent. When she spoke to C-VILLE on August 31, Rachel was reportedly still receiving non-payment notices stating she needed to pay her outstanding balance by September 5 or risk receiving another notice to appear.
“They always send you paperwork if you want to talk about help, or working out payment plans or whatever. ‘Just call us and let us know.’ I do all that, and then I try to call and do it, and nobody answers,” says Rachel. “I am a heart patient, so this has had me stressed out so bad. … I am constantly with migraines and with the worry of whether or not this is going to put me back in the hospital for another three months.”
“We don’t just, I guess, essentially ditch the family because they’re in court. All of our assistance and all of the resources are still being tapped into to see if we can assist the family,” says Banks. “No challenge and no barrier can be avoided or diverted without the efforts of the family itself participating.”
“They’re doing a lot of grandstanding about how they want to do everything they can to help people [and] keep people housed. And if CRHA isn’t able to do that, it’s because the family has been unwilling to work with them, and they’re just always willing … to work with people,” says Smith. “I’m working with those people, and that’s just not matched my experience at all. They’ve been pretty unwilling, once things are in court, to work with people at all. … I think it’s very striking that they are willing to put people out of subsidized housing, the only housing that they will be able to afford, over $300.”
