This article examines how and why landlords vary in their uses of eviction filings. Drawing on over four million property tax records, business filings, and court-ordered eviction documents over fifteen years in Boston, Massachusetts, I show that large landlords file evictions at two to three times the rates of small landlords, and this disparity is not driven by the characteristics of the tenants they rent to. Not only do large landlords file more often, but also over less money owed and more often as a rent collection strategy. Drawing on analyses of the interpersonal conflict during eviction and a range of landlord characteristics, I show that these divergent eviction practices derive from the disparate social and institutional contexts within which landlords make eviction decisions. For small landlords, organizational informality and personal relationships with tenants make eviction a morally fraught decision, while for large landlords, formal decision-making and arms-length relationships with tenants make eviction a routine business practice. By showing both how and why landlords use evictions differently, this article contributes to the sociological understanding of residential instability and of landlord behavior.

中文翻译：

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房东驱逐行为背后的社会和制度背景

本文探讨了房东如何以及为何在使用驱逐文件方面存在差异。根据马萨诸塞州波士顿 15 年来超过 400 万份财产税记录、商业文件和法院命令的驱逐文件，我表明大房东提出驱逐的比率是小房东的两到三倍，而且这种差异不是驱动的根据他们租给的租户的特点。大房东不仅更频繁地提交文件，而且欠的钱更少，而且更经常作为收租策略。通过对驱逐期间的人际冲突和一系列房东特征的分析，我表明这些不同的驱逐做法源于房东做出驱逐决定的不同的社会和制度背景。对于小业主来说，组织的非正式性和与租户的个人关系使驱逐成为一个道德上令人担忧的决定，而对于大房东来说，正式的决策和与租户的公平关系使驱逐成为一种例行的商业行为。通过展示房东如何以及为什么以不同的方式使用驱逐，本文有助于对住宅不稳定和房东行为的社会学理解。