WASHINGTON (AP) – As the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic extend into 2021, millions of U.S. tenants are preparing to have to go to housing court to avoid eviction. But unlike their owners, only a small portion of them will do so flanked by a lawyer.
Less than ten cities and counties across the country guarantee tenants the right to a lawyer in housing-related disputes, and for people struggling to make ends meet, a lawyer is beyond their means, which it lets many skip court hearings or come to light knowing they have little. opportunity. Unlike criminal cases, a lawyer will not be assigned if someone cannot afford it. Legal aid organizations and pro bono lawyers represent many tenants each year, but the need exceeds what they can handle.
While housing advocates have primarily pushed for government rent relief, experts also expect more cities to join the movement to give tenants the right to a lawyer.
“The push for the right to counseling preceded the pandemic, but it is particularly acute and particularly urgent in light of the pandemic, given only the general precariousness that tenants face,” said Gretchen Purser, associate professor of Sociology at Syracuse University specializing in housing, homelessness and urban poverty.
He said legal representation “will be one of the most important things that groups across the country can push for.”
Many people owe months of rent, have lost their jobs, or have faced an increase in medical bills during the health crisis. In January, tenants will owe up to $ 34 billion, according to estimates by the World Investment Bank and advisory firm Stout. An estimated 23 million people are at risk of being evicted.
The federal relief package COVID-19 includes $ 25 billion in rental aid and an extension of an eviction moratorium until January.
The moratorium is what Zachary Kettering thought would protect him when he lost two jobs during the pandemic, fell behind in rent and received a notice in October to leave his one-bedroom apartment in the suburb of McKinney , in Dallas.
But he was the victim of a warning that housing lawyers have warned: the order of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is not a general moratorium; tenants must sign a statement and deliver a copy to the landlord. In early December, Kettering, a disabled veteran, owed $ 6,900 in rent and a police officer knocked on the door with a notice of eviction.
A friend lent him the money to cover his debt and agreed to sign a document from his landlord saying he would not renew the lease in February in exchange for abandoning the case.
“I just accepted what they wanted,” said Kettering, 33, who now raises money online. “It’s like you’re playing a game and one of the people involved doesn’t know the rules of the game. And this game is a big bet, to the point that if you don’t play, you’ll be homeless. “
The federal relief bill also includes $ 20 million in legal assistance for tenants.
In Baltimore, only 1% of tenants have legal representation in eviction cases, compared to 96% of landlords. But this month, Maryland’s largest city became the last U.S. jurisdiction to grant tenants the right to counsel in such cases. A Stout report estimates that 92% of tenants represented by attorneys in Baltimore would avoid having to leave their homes.
The new ordinance requires the city’s Department of Housing and Community Development to hire nonprofit legal organizations and seek funding to help spread and educate tenants. It gives the city four years to fully implement the requirements.
Public Justice Center prosecutor Matthew Hill, who defended the new ordinance, said Baltimore could withdraw general funds and federal money to cover the costs of the program. He said a measure will also be introduced that proposes a right to a lawyer in the Maryland legislature, which will possibly make state funds available for the Baltimore effort.
“This is supposed to balance the playing field and provide access to tenants, because the eviction court is often just evictions, but tenants have a lot of defenses,” Hill said, including whether the place is livable and if the owners are licensed. “Therefore, we want to try to turn the eviction court into a housing court and make sure we enforce the rights of tenants to safe, stable and healthy housing.”
The Stout report estimates that an investment of $ 5.7 million a year to obtain legal representation from Baltimore tenants would generate savings of $ 35.6 million in the city and state in shelters for to homeless people, Medicaid expenses, school funding and foster care costs.
In 2017, New York became the first city in the United States to guarantee the right to a lawyer in a housing court. Between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 86% of tenants represented by lawyers were able to stay at home, according to a city report released this fall.
Other cities with similar laws include San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Newark, New Jersey.
Prior to the pandemic, nearly 300,000 evictions occurred in the U.S. in an average month, according to the Princeton University Eviction Laboratory. A mosaic of local and state guidelines combined with the federal moratorium have provided some protections to people who cannot afford rent. But in some places, including the cities of South Carolina, Ohio, Florida and Virginia, tenants are losing their homes.
Pablo Estupiñan, interim coordinator of Right to Counsel NYC Coalition, said eviction statements have fallen in New York since his right to counsel was enacted three years ago. But he said landlords’ lawyers have increased pressure on tenants, and sometimes people choose to leave because they may not know their rights.
“As a result of the right to counsel, we saw landlords change their tactics and we definitely heard from community members that landlords’ lawyers threatened them saying, ‘If you get a lawyer to represent you, I will fight your case harder. and I will not give you a fair deal, ”Estupiñan said.