They did not go to court but undeniably were evicted. (Their names appear in the eviction records.) Nevertheless, they didn’t see things this way. “When you say ‘eviction,’ ” Rose explained, “I think of the sheriffs coming and throwing you out and changing your locks, and Eagle Movers tosses your stuff on the curb. That’s an eviction. We were not evicted.” If Rose and Tim had been asked during a survey, “Have you ever been evicted?,” they would have answered no. Accordingly, surveys that have posed this question vastly underestimate the prevalence of involuntary removal from housing.
