Tenant right to counsel
Tenant right to counsel (TRTC) provides tenants with legal representation regardless of their ability to pay, especially when tenants face eviction. Without a right to counsel, tenants are typically represented by lawyers around 3% of the time, whereas landlords have legal representation in 80% of cases.[1] TRTC is viewed as a form of homelessness prevention.[2] Generally, tenant right to counsel programs are successful, resulting in lower eviction rates and more time for tenants to move for those who do not stay in their homes.[3][4]
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Around the world
[edit]United Kingdom
[edit]On 1 August 2023, the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service launched in England and Wales,[6] providing free legal representation and advice regardless of income for renters and homeowners who are facing illegal eviction, poor housing conditions, and late rent or mortgage payments.[7] The program was expected to assist 38,000 people per year.[6]
United States
[edit]Unlike criminal right to counsel, there is no federal tenant right to counsel. Evictions and landlord-tenant cases are civil cases. The theoretical expansion of right to counsel to civil cases is known as "Civil Gideon," after Gideon v. Wainwright, which established the right to an appointed lawyer in criminal cases for defendants who cannot afford one.[8][9]
In the US, tenant right to counsel was first passed in New York City in 2017.[1] It has passed in 17 cities as of September 2024,[2] including San Francisco, Kansas City,[4] and Philadelphia.[3]
TRTC is a common goal for tenants unions. KC Tenants, Bozeman Tenants United,[10] North Carolina Tenants Union,[11] and others have pushed for free legal representation for renters at local and statewide levels.
Impact
[edit]United Way of Greater Cleveland and the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland found legal representation for tenants raised from 3% to 16% after the implementation of TRTC.[12] 93% of tenants represented avoided eviction.[2]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Ludden, Jennifer. "More renters facing eviction have a right to a lawyer. Finding one can be hard". NPR.
- ^ a b c Phillips, Kynala (April 13, 2023). "Kansas City wants to prevent homelessness by cutting evictions. Is it working?". Kansas City Star.
- ^ a b "Eviction Protection Grant Program | HUD USER". www.huduser.gov. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
- ^ a b "Right to Counsel". www.nyc.gov. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
- ^ "THE RIGHT TO COUNSEL FOR TENANTS FACING EVICTION: ENACTED LEGISLATION" (PDF). National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel.
- ^ a b "New free legal advice for people facing eviction or repossession". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
- ^ "Legal aid for possession proceedings". GOV.UK. 2023-08-30. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
- ^ "Civil Right to Counsel". American Bar Association.
- ^ Armstrong, Cassie. "Gideon is in the House: Lessons from the Home-Renters' Right-to-Counsel Movement" (PDF). Harvard Civil Rights Civil Liberties Law Review. 59 (1).
- ^ Carroll, Bryanna (2024-06-17). "Bozeman tenant union works to establish right to counsel". KECI. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
- ^ "North Carolina now has a statewide tenants union". WUNC. 2024-04-02. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
- ^ Connell, Katie (2024-02-07). "Right to Counsel keeps Clevelanders in homes, increasing access to justice and creating significant economic benefits for the community". United Way of Greater Cleveland. Retrieved 2024-09-24.