WASHINGTON (AP) – As the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic continue until 2021, millions of tenants in the United States are preparing for the possibility of appearing in the housing court to avoid eviction. But, unlike its owners, only a small fraction of them will make it flanked by a lawyer.
Less than 10 cities and counties across the country guarantee tenants the right to a lawyer in housing-related disputes, and for people struggling to survive, a lawyer is beyond their means, leaving many skipping their court hearings or coming in knowing that have little chance. Unlike criminal cases, a lawyer will not be appointed if someone cannot pay for one. Legal aid organizations and pro bono lawyers represent many tenants every year, but the need outweighs what they can meet.
While housing advocates have pressed mainly for relief from government rent, experts also hope that more cities will join the movement to give tenants the right to a lawyer.
“Pressure for the right to counsel preceded the pandemic, but it is particularly acute and particularly urgent in the light of the pandemic, given only the general precariousness that tenants are facing,” said Gretchen Purser, associate professor of sociology at Syracuse University, specializing in housing, homelessness and urban poverty.
She said that legal representation “is going to be one of the most important things that groups across the country can defend.”
Many people owe months of rent arrears, having lost their jobs or facing rising medical bills during the health crisis. In January, tenants will owe up to $ 34 billion, according to estimates by global investment bank and consultancy Stout. It is estimated that 23 million people are at risk of being evicted.
The federal aid package COVID-19 includes $ 25 billion for rent assistance and an extension of an eviction moratorium to January.
The moratorium is what Zachary Kettering thought would protect him when he lost two jobs during the pandemic, delayed his rent and received a notice in October to vacate his one-bedroom apartment in the Dallas suburb of McKinney.
But he was the victim of a warning about which housing lawyers warned: the order of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is not a general moratorium; tenants must sign a declaration and hand over a copy to the landlord. In early December, Kettering, a disabled veteran, owed $ 6,900 in rent and a policeman knocked on his door with an eviction notice.
A friend lent him the money to cover his debt, and he agreed to sign a landlord’s document saying he would not renew his rent in February in exchange for dropping the case.
“I kind of agree with what they want,” said Kettering, 33, who is now raising 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 very loud, to the point that you will be homeless if you don’t play. “
The federal relief bill also includes $ 20 million for legal assistance to tenants.
In Baltimore, only 1% of tenants are legally represented in eviction cases, compared with 96% of landlords. But this month, Maryland’s largest city has become the latest United States jurisdiction to give tenants the right to a lawyer in such cases. A Stout report estimated that 92% of tenants represented by lawyers in Baltimore would avoid having to leave their homes.
The new decree requires the city’s Department of Housing and Community Development to hire legal non-profit organizations and asks for funding to help publicize and educate tenants. This gives the city four years to fully implement the requirements.
Attorney Matthew Hill of the Center for Public Justice, who defended the new ordinance, said Baltimore could withdraw general funds and federal money to cover program costs. He said a measure proposing a right to a lawyer will also be introduced in the Maryland Legislature, potentially making state funds available for the Baltimore effort.
“This should really level the playing field and really provide access to tenants, because the eviction court often deals only with evictions, but tenants have a lot of defenses,” said Hill, including whether the place is livable and whether the owners are graduates. “Therefore, we want to try to transform the eviction court into a housing court and ensure that we enforce tenants’ rights to safe, stable and healthy housing.”
The Stout report estimated that an investment of $ 5.7 million per year to obtain legal representation for Baltimore tenants would result in $ 35.6 million in savings for the city and the state in homeless shelters, spending on Medicaid, school financing and adoption costs.
In 2017, New York became the first city in the United States to guarantee the right to a lawyer in the housing court. Between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 86% of tenants represented by lawyers were able to stay in their homes, according to a municipal report released this fall.
Other cities with similar laws include San Francisco, Philadelphia and Newark, New Jersey.
Before the pandemic, about 300,000 evictions were recorded in the United States in an average month, according to the Eviction Lab at Princeton University. A patchwork of local and state guidelines combined with the federal moratorium provided some protections for people who cannot afford rent. But in some places, including cities in South Carolina, Ohio, Florida and Virginia, renters are losing their homes.
Pablo Estupiñan, interim co-coordinator for the New York Lawyer’s Coalition, said eviction requests have fallen in New York since his lawyer’s law came into force three years ago. But he said homeowners’ 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 a lawyer, we saw the owners changing their tactics and we definitely heard from community members that the owners ‘lawyers were threatening them, saying,’ If you get a lawyer to represent you, then I will fight harder and not give you a fair deal, ‘”said Estupiñan.