Legal Representation for Tenants

Why provide legal representation to tenants?

Recent research has illuminated eviction as a widespread phenomenon that is both a consequence and a cause of poverty, with multiple negative impacts for individuals and families in all areas of their lives. Households of color are especially vulnerable to eviction in part because they are disproportionately renters: more than half of Black and Latinx families rent their homes, compared to 25 percent of white families. But even among renter households, Black households—and particularly households with children—disproportionately face eviction filings and evictions, regardless of their income. A comprehensive study from The Eviction Lab found that one in five Black adult renters received an eviction filing in the 2007-2016 period compared with one in 24 white adult renters.

While impoverished people are guaranteed an attorney in criminal cases in the United States, this protection does not apply to civil cases, including eviction proceedings. Given the cost of legal fees, most renters do not have attorneys. Looking at a diverse sample of 39 jurisdictions across the U.S., the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel found that on average, only 4 percent of tenants have legal representation compared to 83 percent of landlords. This imbalance contributes to negative outcomes for tenants who do not have the information necessary to defend their cases. A study of Baltimore’s rent court, for example, found that while 80 percent of tenants had a potential defense, only 8 percent of those without lawyers successfully used that defense.

Recognizing the potential for legal representation to drastically improve eviction case outcomes, tenant advocates have increasingly been organizing to guarantee legal representation for low-income tenants over the past decade. Following a three-year advocacy campaign, New York City became the first U.S. city to adopt a right to counsel (RTC) law in 2017. Since then, 23 other cities, counties, and states have passed RTC ordinances, and many others have expanded access to legal representation.

What are the potential benefits?

Evaluations of programs that provide a RTC or expand access to legal representation for low-income tenants have found that they help prevent eviction and increase housing stability. An outside evaluation of New York City’s RTC program found that tenants who gained lawyers through the program had better outcomes throughout the housing court process and were less likely to be evicted. Over the past six years the program’s own reporting has found that the vast majority of represented tenants avoided eviction (84 percent in 2023). RTC programs in Cleveland, Ohio; San Francisco, California; Boulder, Colorado; Kansas City, Missouri; and Connecticut have also demonstrated reduced eviction rates. Legal representation also improves outcomes for tenants who want to or must vacate their homes. A study of Cleveland’s RTC program, for example, found that 92 percent of clients who wanted additional time to move obtained it, and 97 percent who sought monetary relief received it. These types of relief can mean the difference between housing stability and homelessness.  

In addition to helping tenants remain housed, avoiding evictions also has a positive impact on health, employment, and educational opportunities and outcomes. Children from evicted families suffered from housing and food insecurity as well as negative health outcomes. Evictions can also impact employment and exacerbate mental health issues, limiting people's ability to escape poverty. Workers who are forced out of their homes are 11 to 22 percent more likely to lose their jobs and earn almost 17 percent less at new jobs. By keeping evictions off a renter’s record, individuals and families are also able to secure housing more easily in the future, avoiding longer-term harm. 

When tenants have access to legal representation, they are more likely to attend court proceedings. A recent report of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin’s Eviction Free MKE program found that legal representation significantly impacted defaulted judgements, where an eviction occurs automatically when tenants fail to show up to court. Before the program's launch, less than 3 percent of tenants had legal representation, leading to a default eviction rate of over 70 percent. Now, with attorneys representing about 25 percent of eviction cases, the default rate has dropped to 32 percent. This benefit of ensuring legal support not only reduces unjust evictions but also generates significant cost savings. The report additionally identified that the Eviction Free MKE program, costing $3 million, saved the County approximately $9 million by reducing social service costs, preserving economic stability, and retaining essential public funding. The cost savings from legal representation underscore its value, as it not only protects tenants' rights but also yields a substantial return on investment for the community.

How do you design and implement an equitable tenant legal assistance program?

There are two approaches that municipalities can take to support tenants in eviction cases. The strongest approach with the most evidence of positive outcomes is right to counsel, which mandates legal representation for eligible tenants during eviction proceedings. RTC is a permanent service within the legal system, supported by dedicated budget allocations and is intended to ensure consistent, long-term availability of services. “Universal representation” programs also provide legal representation to all eligible tenants, but without the backing of a local ordinance, which can place the availability, funding, and scope of services at risk.

For both types of legal representation programs, jurisdictions should consider the following design elements to ensure it effectively serves tenants, especially those most vulnerable to eviction:

• Prioritize the most vulnerable renters: While the ideal model for tenant legal representation serves all renters facing housing challenges, means testing helps prioritize scarce financial and personnel resources, ensuring that the most vulnerable renter populations receive services. Effective practices include targeting services to those at or below specific low and moderate-income thresholds. Cities like New York City, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Washington, D.C., have set eligibility for their RTC programs up to 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), broadening coverage for low-income households. Conversely, advocates in Los Angeles, California urged the City Attorney to draft an ordinance that uses the metric of 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) to determine eligibility, while Kingston, New York provides broad eligibility up to 120 percent AMI and Baltimore targets households earning up to 50 percent of the AMI. By tailoring income eligibility criteria, these cities make legal representation programs accessible to those facing the greatest economic challenges.
• Partner with tenant organizers and housing advocates: Tenant organizers and housing advocates working in the most impacted communities (many of whom are tenants themselves facing eviction risk) provide invaluable, ground-level perspectives on the challenges faced by low-income renters as well as their solutions. Where present, these groups are usually the driving force advocating to establish legal representation programs, and they are critical to engage in program development, implementation, evaluation, and evolution. By actively involving them, jurisdictions can shape tenant legal representation initiatives that are responsive, inclusive, and address the specific needs and barriers encountered by renters. This collaboration can foster trust within the community, enhance program reach, and promote equitable implementation by tailoring programs that resonate with those most at risk of housing instability and with the least amount of resources to obtain legal support. In New York City, for example, the Right to Counsel NYC Coalition and the Coalition for the Homeless led a three-year campaign to bring right to counsel to the City, and the Right to Counsel NYC Coalition continues to work to defend the program from backsliding. (See the Coalition’s legislative and organizing principles here). 
• Partner with local legal service providers and community organizations to develop and administer programs: Partnering with local organizations can improve the effectiveness of programs and help expedite the distribution of services. Jurisdictions contemplating providing these services in-house should consider that the government’s attorneys typically lack expertise in housing court and tenants facing eviction may not trust attorneys who work for the city/state, particularly where a public entity (such as a housing authority) is involved in the eviction. To date, all legal assistance programs are being carried out via partnership with legal service providers who typically work with local community organizations. In Cleveland, the City contracted with Cleveland Legal Aid, an organization that is responsible for administering tenant legal representation, as part of their RTC services. The legal aid organization relied on and worked with local social service and nonprofit organizations familiar with communities vulnerable to evictions to identify prospective clients. As trusted community service providers, these organizations also connect residents to local housing resources, such as relocation and moving assistance. In New York City, the City tasked the Office of Civil Justice (OCJ) with planning and implementing free legal service programs for tenants facing eviction. By collaborating with local nonprofit legal service providers, the OCJ was to be able to quickly establish programs and provide resources, including tenant legal services and a housing legal hotline.
• Develop an outreach strategy that centers at-risk communities: An important aspect of a tenant-focused program is having a strong outreach strategy. Many tenant legal representation programs incorporate comprehensive outreach throughout the life of the program. New York City obligates the OCJ coordinator to collaborate with community groups to educate tenants, addressing a critical gap where many are unaware of their rights and resources. This outreach aligns with broader efforts, such as the City's ARPA-funded tenant programs, which focused on reaching at-risk populations, like seniors, through targeted education campaigns. In Cleveland, outreach efforts took a hyper local approach focusing on residents and businesses in census tracts with more eviction filings. In cases where filings or other eviction-related data is not readily available, jurisdictions can use demographic indicators related to economic and housing vulnerability such as income, unemployment, age, and existing housing vulnerability indices.
• Legal representation programs should ensure that information is easy to find, well-organized, and available in relevant languages: The lack of awareness about tenants’ rights and barriers to accessing resources makes households vulnerable to evictions and other legal repercussions. Successful tenant legal representation programs have well-organized websites with easily accessible resources for renters. Many jurisdictions that designate a local organization to lead their tenant legal representation also rely on the organization to offer a user-friendly resource page. The Eviction Defense Collaborative in San Francisco has a model website that helps low-income tenants respond to eviction lawsuits and provides resources to secure free legal representation. The “Resources” page is organized by the different services they provide, including rental assistance, legal representation, shelter client advocacy, and miscellaneous resources. Ideally, information on the program’s website is available in multiple languages.
• Develop a data collection and program evaluation process to understand clients’ needs and track program outcomes: Data collection and regular evaluations ensure that programs and policies are benefiting vulnerable populations. Eviction data varies in availability by place, and is often incomplete, inaccurate, or outdated. This makes it difficult to track evictions and predict where resources should be invested. Cleveland’s Eviction Right to Counsel program invested heavily in improving their data collection process and program evaluation. Compiled data included case closing memos that had important information on clients, how claims were filed, and filing outcomes—all of which demonstrated the effectiveness of legal representation. Cleveland uses this data to improve the program and to fill in renter data gaps.

Where is it happening?

Legal representation for tenants has the potential to substantially reduce evictions, prevent homelessness, and ensure housing stability. Many cities have effectively used ARPA dollars to create, sustain, and expand the scope of services provided within tenant legal representation programs. By partnering with established legal organizations, targeting vulnerable populations, and incorporating translation services, these programs have demonstrated the critical role of legal support in eviction and homelessness prevention. 

Cleveland, Ohio

In 2019, Cleveland City Council approved the RTC for low-income families in the City. The program was originally staffed by Cleveland Legal Aid and United Way of Greater Cleveland. The two organizations provide free legal counsel for families at or below the federal poverty level facing eviction, as well as access to additional resources for food, utility assistance, and funding for rent. In 2021, the program expanded and added free eviction help to manage outreach and also provide additional legal counsel services. In 2022, the City approved the allocation of $1 million in ARPA funds to continue to provide these essential services. Since the start of the ARPA-funded legal representation program, 90 percent of evictions have been avoided. This is an especially salient equity issue in Cleveland, where 43 percent of eviction filings are made against Black residents and 83 percent against women. Investing in tenant legal representation programs can directly increase vulnerable residents’ housing security.

Detroit, Michigan

Since the start of the pandemic, Detroit has invested over $300 million in preventing evictions through rental assistance and legal representation. In 2022, the City enacted a RTC for tenants facing eviction and allocated $6 million in ARPA funds to create the Office of Eviction Defense. This was a significant advocacy win for low-income residents in Detroit that had been advocating for more legal protections from evictions since before the pandemic. The Office of Eviction Defense works with legal service providers to provide free legal services to tenant households in the City facing eviction. Qualifying households must have a gross income no higher than twice the federal poverty level. In 2023, the Office of Eviction Defense received $12 million in ARPA funds to continue to provide legal services, and an additional $12 million from a private foundation specifically to provide services for low-income families with children.

Milwaukee County, Wisconsin

In 2021, Milwaukee County voted to establish a universal tenant legal representation program using $1.8 million of its ARPA funds and a $1.5 million gift from the United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County. The County designated the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee and United Way to lead the program. In 2022, they established Eviction Free MKE, managed by the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, as an online tool to connect tenants to legal resources. The program provides eviction prevention support to individuals and families who are at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines in Milwaukee County. This includes ensuring tenants have support with appearances before judges, resolutions with landlords, and interpretation of eviction legality. Eviction Free MKE is facing a fiscal cliff and uncertainty for continued funding. Ending an impactful program can lead to a rise in eviction rates, increase homelessness, and strain the homelessness support system.

Kingston, New York

In November 2023, Kingston launched its program using $500,000 in ARPA funding. To qualify, residents must have a household income under 120 percent of the median income in Kingston. Eligible residents can receive legal services regarding pending evictions, eviction warrants, and significant housing repairs. Services are offered in Spanish and English. See our case study.

Complementary Policies

Tenant legal representation is most effective in concert with complementary policies that strengthen renter protections and prevent eviction, such as the following.

• Emergency Rental Assistance: Rental assistance can provide financial aid and housing stability services to cost-burdened renters, many of whom are extremely low-income and/or people of color. These programs provide support for many renters across the country and address one of the primary causes for evictions. Jurisdictions offering rental assistance should note that many tenants may have trouble accessing resources without the aid of an attorney. Providing legal representation alongside rental assistance helps ensure that tenants can access rental assistance and provides another layer of protection if landlords refuse rental assistance payments or proceed with evictions despite receiving funds.
• Tenant Unions: Supporting or facilitating tenant unions and associations can amplify the collective voice of renters while advocating for policy changes, fair housing laws, and better living conditions. Since 1997, the federal government has had the authority to allocate up to $10 million for tenant organizing in HUD assisted properties, although the funding has diminished over the years. Cities and states can allocate funding for tenant organizations and tenant organizing activities. Examples of local-level support include Washington D.C’s Office of the Tenant Advocate, which assists in the formation of tenant associations, and Austin,Texas, which funds tenant education and organizing through its city code enforcement budget. Beyond providing funding, local governments can enhance tenant rights to organize, as demonstrated by San Francisco’s recent legislation. This law requires landlords to allow tenant organizing activities in common areas, and permits tenants in buildings with five or more units to form associations. Some examples of other effective tenant unions include LA Tenants Union, United Tenants of Albany, and San Francisco Tenants Union. Notably, tenant advocates have pointed out that providing a right to counsel for tenants facing eviction helps embolden tenants to organize, since it can diminish the fear of facing a retaliatory eviction for any organizing activities.
• Just Cause Eviction Protections: Just cause protections require landlords to have a valid reason, such as failure to pay rent, for evicting a tenant or refusing to renew their lease. These laws benefit low-income tenants by protecting renters from evictions when they are not at fault, discouraging tenants from self-evicting, and allowing renters to advocate for improved living conditions without fear of retaliation. Such a policy is interlinked with RTC: without counsel tenants may not know of this protection or be able to effectively assert it, and without protections such as just cause, tenant attorneys are more limited in the defenses they can assert.
• Mediation: Mediation is a tool that can help reduce evictions by facilitating discussions between landlords and tenants to resolve disputes, such as nonpayment of rent. It allows both parties to work toward mutually beneficial solutions, such as extended payment plans, without resorting to court proceedings. Mediation, often combined with legal support and financial assistance, can prevent eviction filings, reduce legal costs, and preserve tenant-landlord relationships. This process addresses eviction filings that may otherwise be used as leverage for rent collection, offering a more constructive approach to housing stability. The Eviction Resolution Pilot Program in Washington State facilitated free mediation meetings with trained specialists at the King County Dispute Resolution Center, available to all tenants regardless of immigration status. This program, designed with equity in mind, served over 70 percent of households at or below 200 percent of the poverty level and over half of clients identified their race or ethnicity as non-white. 
• Eviction Record Sealing: Coupling eviction record sealing with tenant legal services provides additional protection for vulnerable renters. Eviction filings can have lasting and permanent consequences. An eviction record on public and credit histories can prevent tenants from securing future housing. For low-income and marginalized renter populations, this impact extends beyond housing, affecting access to transportation, quality schools, and job opportunities. When an eviction record is sealed and removed from public view, it cannot be unsealed or sold to a third party like a credit company or another landlord. Yet such sealing often requires legal assistance. For instance, in Hennepin County, Minnesota, nearly 80 percent of tenants with lawyers leave court without an eviction record, compared with just 6 percent of unrepresented tenants.
• Tenant Screening Protections: In addition to sealing eviction records, state and local laws can regulate tenant screening procedures to complement tenant legal services. Tenant screening protection policies can require landlords to use uniform screening criteria, consider applicants holistically, and prohibit rejection based solely on credit, criminal, or eviction histories. Shortening the look-back period for housing applications strengthens tenant protections, as current Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) regulations allow screening companies to report eviction records that are up to seven years old. Reducing this timeframe would limit the impact of outdated eviction records on prospective tenants, ensuring fairer access to housing opportunities.
• Eviction Diversion Programs: An Eviction Diversion Program is a coordinated approach that integrates multiple strategies including rental assistance, legal representation, mediation services, financial assistance, and social or behavioral services. This comprehensive array of services aims to resolve landlord-tenant disputes and avoid evictions outside the formal court system, preventing the progression of court cases. Successful programs require dynamic and robust partnership between governments, community organizations, landlords, and legal service providers.

Acknowledgements

This brief was initially researched and written by Joanny Leyva and Tulsi Patel of Estolano Advisors, with contributions to the final draft by Ashley Thomas of the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy. We thank John Pollock of the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel for his thoughtful review and feedback.