Fran Quigley, clinical professor at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, told a Mid North Shepherd Center audience in Indianapolis that Marion County receives roughly 500 new eviction filings each week and that the U.S. eviction system has become “fast, cheap and easy.”

Quigley, who directs the law school's Housing, Health and Human Rights Clinic and whose students observe eviction dockets weekly, said the people who show up in eviction court are often low-wage workers, injured or disabled people and older residents who cannot afford market-rate housing. He described eviction as both a local crisis — 500 filings a week in Marion County — and part of a national pattern of millions of filings annually.

Quigley opened with clients’ stories to illustrate who is affected: a fast-food assistant manager who missed pay after a car repair, a warehouse worker injured on the job and a 74-year-old man on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) who could not absorb a $200 rent increase. “We see parents with young children, home health aides, warehouse workers,” Quigley said. He gave median pay examples from the region — food service about $15 an hour, home health care about $16 and warehouse work about $18 — and said those wages are often not enough to cover rent and basic needs.

Why it matters

Quigley said the crisis persists because federal housing assistance is underfunded and poorly targeted: many households who qualify for subsidized housing do not receive it. He said three of four eligible households do not get federal housing help and compared the gap to other social entitlements such as Medicaid and SNAP. “If you’re eligible for Medicaid or SNAP, you receive it. We could design housing assistance the same way,” he said.

How the courts contribute

Quigley said court procedures accelerate displacement: eviction dockets are often scheduled within days of filing, hearings average fewer than five minutes, and filing is inexpensive for landlords. He described TurboTenant — a commercial service that advises landlords — and cited a landlord-friendly ranking that lists Indiana among the top states for landlord advantages. Quigley argued those features make the process “fast, cheap and easy,” giving landlords an incentive to file many cases rapidly and leaving tenants little time to prepare or find alternatives.

Local and policy responses

Quigley described local community responses, including the Indiana Eviction Justice Network and a Court Watcher Program coordinated with faith communities and the Greater Indianapolis Multi-Faith organization. Court watchers attend dockets, document courtroom practices and have met with judges, township trustees and legislators to press for changes. He also described proposals discussed by his students and allies: creating tenant right-to-counsel programs, slowing the eviction timeline, sealing dismissed cases from public screening sites, and shifting existing subsidies away from higher-income homeowners and corporate landlords toward renters who qualify for assistance.

Quigley also mentioned federal obstacles and policy levers. He described the Faircloth Amendment — a federal provision that limits growth in public housing units — as a constraint on expanding public housing and said advocates including some members of Congress and private groups have sought to repeal it. He argued that tax subsidies for homeowners and corporate landlords absorb large sums that could be redirected to rental assistance.

What residents asked and what Quigley recommended

Audience members asked about causes of Indiana’s high eviction rates, rent control, redistricting and whether eviction records can be sealed. Quigley said the Apartment Association and landlord lobbying shape state policy and that state-level preemption limits Indianapolis’s ability to enact rent control or higher local minimum wages. He said recent Indiana changes allow some dismissed eviction cases to be removed from public statewide case-search sites and that legal services and clinic partners can help tenants request sealing. He described voluntary moves (“voluntary vacate”) and negotiated settlements as ways some tenants avoid a lasting public record.

Quigley urged local engagement: attend court dockets, join court-watcher programs and press township trustees and legislators for rental assistance and procedural reforms. He said many fixes are political and financial choices rather than technical impossibilities.

Ending

Quigley closed by saying the housing crisis is “fixable” and invited attendees to join local court-watcher efforts and other advocacy. He offered to share contact information for the Indiana Eviction Justice Network and related groups for people interested in observing courts or volunteering.