The Eviction Cliff: Pandemic Moratoria, Structural Breaks, and Housing Vulnerability in Florida

Housing insecurity is one of the most urgent social problems in the United States, with eviction serving as an important contributor to poverty, health inequities, and insecure housing. Federal and state policymakers established eviction moratoria and emergency rental assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic that dramatically decreased filings. This paper analyzes eviction filings in Florida from 2019 through 2025 to see if these actions had a lasting impact. Using the theory of institutional temporality, we employed descriptive, inferential, and time-series analyses, including segmented regression and joinpoint analyses, using data collected from the Eviction Lab. Results demonstrated that filings dropped to an average of 6,551 per month during the moratorium, compared to 10,766 prior to the pandemic; however, filings rose to 11,754 per month after protections were lifted in July 2021. Peaks in January and October also influenced the risk of eviction. The moratoria provided short-term relief, but Florida’s “eviction cliff” illustrates the limits of crisis-focused eviction policies and highlights the need for structural changes that integrate eviction prevention into long-term housing policy.