A number of US cities have set up programs to stem the flood of evictions of unrepresented tenants by runaway gentrification.
Hiring an attorney in the United States is often beyond the means of poor as well as middle income tenants who fall through the cracks of a legal system that has no concept of a civil right to counsel like most other developed countries do.
This has led to an open season on tenants who live in areas where rents have been rising. ('Churning')
Philadelphia has recently been looking at providing help to the poorest tenants.
http://philadelphiabar.org/page/NewsItem?appNum=2&newsItemID=1001829"if the City were to invest just $3.5 million annually to provide counsel for all low-income tenants facing eviction, it would receive a return of $45.2 million annually."
"only 7 percent of Philadelphia tenants are represented, compared to 80 percent of landlords"
"represented tenants are only displaced 5 percent of the time, compared to 78 percent of pro se (self-represented, i.e. lawyer-less) tenants."
For coverage of the report see:
Philadelphia Tribune
http://www.phillytrib.com/news/legal-aid-beneficial-to-tenants-study-says/article_e128fb37-0114-54fc-8cd5-8b65f3989634.htmlWHYY
https://whyy.org/articles/study-philly-tenants-facing-eviction-too-often-lack-legal-representation/Philadelphia Weekly
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news/new-report-claims-city-could-save-millions-by-providing-lawyers/article_98e5bfca-e734-11e8-bb05-9f515a683ebc.htmlPlanPhilly
http://planphilly.com/articles/2018/11/13/study-spending-now-on-legal-aid-for-renters-would-save-city-down-the-roadNext City
https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/what-philadephia-could-gain-from-expanding-legal-aid-for-tenants -----
It should be said though that everybody should be able to get help, not just the very poor. People whose income is more than the poverty line don't suddenly become able to afford $300 or more an hour fees.
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New York City’s first year of right to counsel kept 84% of tenants in homes
The New York City Office of Civil Justice has released its 2018 report
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/hra/downloads/pdf/services/civiljustice/OCJ-UA-2018-Report.pdf 84 percent of all tenants who were provided an attorney in Housing Court remained in their homes (21,955 New Yorkers representing 7,847 households). It is especially notable that the 84 percent figure exceeds the 77 percent figure estimated by the NYC Independent Budget Office. Moreover, 97 percent of those receiving legal services for NYCHA administrative termination of tenancy were able to remain in their homes. These results demonstrate the incredible effectiveness of a right to counsel in preserving housing stability. In considering the reasons for that effectiveness, it is meaningful that nearly three-quarters of those receiving legal assistance for Housing Court obtained full representation.
Evictions conducted by (NYC) City Marshalls have dropped by 27 percent overall since 2013, and have declined steadily in all but one year since then;
30 percent of all tenants are now represented by an attorney
The right to counsel is reaching those most in need: the largest represented group was those making less than 50 percent of the federal poverty level, and half of the legal services recipients were receiving public benefits.
The 2018 report's release was covered by WNYC
https://www.wnyc.org/story/more-tenants-lawyers-city-says-evictions-are-dropping/and
The Real Deal
https://therealdeal.com/2018/11/14/why-eviction-rates-are-dropping-in-nyc/ Media coverage of similar programs elsewhere.
The Arizona Daily Star
https://tucson.com/news/local/more-affordable-housing-right-to-legal-counsel-could-ease-tucson/article_29beed58-e769-11e8-8312-23aee3ac4e68.html looks at a number of different ways in which the eviction crisis in Tucson could be addressed, including the right to counsel.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-mayor-jacob-frey-tenant-advocates-launch-program-that-aims-to-help-renters-on-the-verge-of-eviction/500542492/ covers the recent expansion of housing representation, and highlights the great work of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid in Hennepin County (where a pilot has been running for a while).
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These links are from
http://civilrighttocounsel.org/