Metro Officials: No Authority to Stop Evictions

Omaha city and county officials say their hands are tied when it comes to stopping landlords from evicting tenants, even during the ongoing COVID-19 emergency.

Whether it’s keeping the house warm or the lights on, the Omaha gas and electric companies are promising no shutoffs for unpaid bills but so far that’s not the case with evictions.

Thirty-one state and metro groups from Legal Aid to Planned Parenthood have issued a letter urging metro officials to stop evictions that will end in homelessness and be counterproductive to public health efforts to contain the virus.

Governor Pete Ricketts wants landlords to do the right thing.

According to the group of 31, Douglas County averages over 48-hundred evictions a year, approximately 92 a week – and just last Friday 40 eviction hearings were on the county court schedule.

One county official tells NCN, the Legislature may be tenants’ last hope.