Tenant right to counsel

Tenant right to counsel (TRTC) guarantees that eligible tenants will be provided legal representation, especially when tenants face eviction. Without a right to counsel, tenants are represented by lawyers around 3% of the time on average, whereas landlords have legal representation in 84% of cases.^[1]^[2] TRTC is viewed as a form of homelessness prevention,^[3] but eviction potentially implicates a number of other basic human needs, such as child custody, education, employment, and physical/mental health. ^[4] Generally, tenant right to counsel programs are successful, resulting in lower eviction rates and more time, reduced rent arrears, and a sealed eviction record for tenants for those who cannot or do not want to stay in their homes.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Around the world

Germany

The Tenant's Protection Association offers legal advice to members.^[9]

United Kingdom

On 1 August 2023, the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service launched in England and Wales,^[10] 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.^[11] The program was expected to assist 38,000 people per year.^[6]

United States

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 was at one time 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,^[12] but advocates have moved away from that term in favor of "civil right to counsel".^[13] ^[14]

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,^[3] including San Francisco, Kansas City,^[5] and Philadelphia.^[4]

TRTC is a common goal for tenants unions. KC Tenants, Bozeman Tenants United,^[15] North Carolina Tenants Union,^[16] and others have pushed for free legal representation for renters at local and statewide levels.

Impact

The National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel has collected tenant right to counsel impact data, including:

In New York City, 84% of represented tenants stayed in their homes;
In Maryland, 76% of tenant households provided full representation avoided disruptive displacement, and tenants received more than $415,000 in housing judgments and avoided more than $4.5 million in direct costs
In Kansas City, 86% of represented tenants stayed in their units with no eviction record.^[17]

References

^ ^a ^b Ludden, Jennifer. "More renters facing eviction have a right to a lawyer. Finding one can be hard". NPR.
^ "Eviction representation statistics for landlords and tenants absent special intervention" (PDF). National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel.
^ ^a ^b Phillips, Kynala (April 13, 2023). "Kansas City wants to prevent homelessness by cutting evictions. Is it working?". Kansas City Star.
^ ^a ^b Pollock, John (2024). "Right to Counsel for Tenants Facing Eviction: Justification, History, and Future". Fordham Urban Law Journal.
^ ^a ^b "Eviction Protection Grant Program | HUD USER". huduser.gov. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
^ ^a ^b "Right to Counsel". nyc.gov. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
^ "Tenant Right to Counsel - Representation Impact and Cost/Benefit Data". National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
^ "The Right to Counsel for Tenants Facing Eviction: Enacted Legislation" (PDF). National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel.
^ Lord, Richard (2008-09-10). CultureShock! Germany: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette. Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd. ISBN 978-981-4435-69-7.
^ "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.
^ "About Civil Right to Counsel". NCCRC.
^ 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.
^ "Tenant Right to Counsel - Representation Impact and Cost/Benefit Data". www.civilrighttocounsel.org. Retrieved 2024-11-24.

[:0-1] Ludden, Jennifer. "More renters facing eviction have a right to a lawyer. Finding one can be hard". NPR.

[2] "Eviction representation statistics for landlords and tenants absent special intervention" (PDF). National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel.

[:1-3] Phillips, Kynala (April 13, 2023). "Kansas City wants to prevent homelessness by cutting evictions. Is it working?". Kansas City Star.

[:2-4] Pollock, John (2024). "Right to Counsel for Tenants Facing Eviction: Justification, History, and Future". Fordham Urban Law Journal.

[:3-5] "Eviction Protection Grant Program | HUD USER". huduser.gov. Retrieved 2024-09-24.

[:4-6] "Right to Counsel". nyc.gov. Retrieved 2024-09-24.

[:5-7] "Tenant Right to Counsel - Representation Impact and Cost/Benefit Data". National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel. Retrieved 2024-11-24.

[8] "The Right to Counsel for Tenants Facing Eviction: Enacted Legislation" (PDF). National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel.

[9] Lord, Richard (2008-09-10). CultureShock! Germany: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette. Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd. ISBN 978-981-4435-69-7.

[:6-10] "New free legal advice for people facing eviction or repossession". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2024-09-24.

[11] "Legal aid for possession proceedings". GOV.UK. 2023-08-30. Retrieved 2024-09-24.

[12] "Civil Right to Counsel". American Bar Association.

[13] "About Civil Right to Counsel". NCCRC.

[14] 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).

[15] Carroll, Bryanna (2024-06-17). "Bozeman tenant union works to establish right to counsel". KECI. Retrieved 2024-09-24.

[16] "North Carolina now has a statewide tenants union". WUNC. 2024-04-02. Retrieved 2024-09-24.

[17] "Tenant Right to Counsel - Representation Impact and Cost/Benefit Data". www.civilrighttocounsel.org. Retrieved 2024-11-24.

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