As eviction cases mount in Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam is again asking the state’s high court to delay hearings that could leave thousands of Virginians homeless during the pandemic.

In a letter dated July 24, Northam asked Virginia Chief Justice Donald Lemons to suspend proceedings for unlawful detainers — a.k.a. evictions — until Sept. 7. The governor says the extra time will not only provide relief to at-risk renters, but also provide his administration the opportunity to develop a legislative package focused on eviction prevention once the state’s General Assembly convenes for a special session on Aug. 18.

“The rise in COVID-19 cases has dampened the Commonwealth’s ability to recover from the economic crisis following in the wake of the pandemic,” the letter says. “There remains the distinct threat that the most vulnerable Virginians will be evicted from their homes at a time when our public health crisis is expanding rather than contracting.”

Evictions had been banned in Virginia under a series of earlier judicial emergencies spurred by the health crisis, but the most recent stay expired at the end of June. At the time, Gov. Northam encouraged local courts to decide for themselves whether to begin hearing eviction cases. His administration also rolled out a $50 million eviction prevention program that aimed to throw a lifeline to renters in arrears.

That program has since processed assistance for 467 households, according to the Northam administration. But the money has already proven unequal to the task: Between July 20 and Aug. 7, more than 6,000 eviction hearings are scheduled across Virginia courts, the letter says.

An increase in homelessness is increasingly likely as thousands of Virginians face losing the $600 weekly unemployment benefits Congress authorized in March. Those beefed-up benefits officially sunset this week, with no Plan B in place until Congress reaches a deal on the latest coronavirus relief bill. Those deliberations have been challenging: Senate Republicans have called to cut federal benefits to $200 a week, eventually capping combined state and federal benefits at 70% of workers’ prior wages; Democrats want the $600 supplement to remain as-is.

Analysts with the National Multifamily Housing Council, which tracks rent payments at large professionally managed apartment buildings across the U.S., says expanded unemployment benefits are a primary reason many Americans have continued to pay their rent on time.

Before the pandemic, Virginia was a national capital for evictions. Five cities in the commonwealth — including Richmond and Hampton — ranked among the “top evicting large cities” in the U.S., according to a 2016 analysis by the Eviction Lab at Princeton University.

Evictions remain banned in the District of Columbia for the duration of the health emergency. In Maryland, renters who have lost their income due to the pandemic are protected by an executive order that provides a blanket defense against evictions, but landlords can still bring charges against renters for nonpayment. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh has asked courts to reinstate an evictions freeze that expired July 25.

As WAMU/DCist has reported, some landlords have begun using intimidation tactics to pressure out-of-work renters into paying back rent. Many — but not all — of these practices are illegal.

Faith leaders in Virginia recently urged Northam to extend the eviction moratorium. The state’s attorney general, Mark Herring, issued an opinion earlier this month that said Northam has the statutory and executive authority to pause evictions, and does not need to seek approval from the high court.