Tenant right to counsel

Tenant right to counsel (TRTC) is a proposed right that tenants should be provided with free legal representation, especially when tenants face eviction. As of 2023 in the United States, tenants are represented by lawyers in eviction cases 3% of the time, whereas landlords have legal representation in 80% of cases.^[1] TRTC is viewed as a form of homelessness prevention,^[2] but eviction potentially implicates a number of other basic human needs, such as child custody, education, employment, and physical/mental health. ^[3] Generally, tenant right to counsel programs have resulted in lower eviction rates, reduced rent arrears, and a sealed eviction records for tenants who cannot or do not want to stay in their homes.^[4][5][6]

US state legislation on tenant right to counsel (NOTE: does not indicate cities with tenant right to counsel)^[7]

  No statewide TRTC

  Some statewide TRTC passed

Around the world

United Kingdom

On 1 August 2023, the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service launched in England and Wales,^[8] 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.^[9] The program was expected to assist 38,000 people per year.^[5]

United States

See also: Tenants union § Legal Protection

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,^[10] but advocates have moved away from that term in favor of "civil right to counsel".^{[11] [12]}

In the US, tenant right to counsel was first passed in New York City in 2017.^[1] It has passed in four states and 17 cities as of September 2024,^[2] including San Francisco, Kansas City,^[4] and Philadelphia.^[1][3]

TRTC is a common goal for tenants unions. KC Tenants, Bozeman Tenants United,^[13] Lawrence Tenants,^[14] North Carolina Tenants Union,^[15] 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.^[16]

Some jurisdictions saw a reduction in racist attitudes toward repeat evictees.^[17] TRTC programs have often been seen as a tool in reducing gender and racial gaps in eviction rates.^[18][19][14]

Funding

Tenant right to counsel programs require adequate and consistent funding. Improper funding has led to case overload, development of triage systems, burnout from participating lawyers, and difficulty in hiring lawyers due to job insecurity.^[17]

An independent report from Stout found Oklahoma County and Tulsa County benefitted $6.3 million from a pilot program between 2022 and 2024,^[20][21] estimating a return on investment (ROI) of $4.21 for every dollar invested into the program.^[20] The Boston Bar estimated in 2020 a statewide TRTC program would result in an ROI of $2.40.^[22] Connecticut's TRTC program saved an estimated $36.6 million, taking in consideration funds not spent on emergency shelter, foster care, Medicaid spending, and other social services spending as a result of the program.^[23][24]

See also

• Right to counsel
• Landlord-tenant law
• Civil rights