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Elizabeth Rosenthal: This could "change the frame of eviction court."
The first phase of Connecticut’s Right to Counsel program rolls out on Monday, guaranteeing tenants in select zip codes access to legal representation in eviction court.
The Connecticut Bar Foundation is coordinating the program with legal aid organizations across the state through a phone hotline and website. Tenants facing eviction will receive information about accessing an attorney from landlords, housing subsidy providers, and the court system.
Since the state legislature approved the Right to Counsel bill last May, the Bar Foundation has been gearing up to utilize a stream of federal pandemic relief dollars to expand legal aid associations’ capacities.
“This is really expanding our opportunity to represent folks,” New Haven Legal Assistance Association (NHLAA) Deputy Director Elizabeth Rosenthal said of the Right to Counsel program.
The program takes effect ahead of the Feb. 15 expiration date for Gov. Ned Lamont’s executive order requiring landlords to apply for rental assistance under the UniteCT program before evicting tenants. If the governor does not extend the order, legal aid attorneys expect an uptick in evictions.
Tenants are eligible if their income is equal to or lower than 80 percent of the state’s median income. (For a family of four, 80 percent of the median income is $79,900 per year.) If demand outpaces capacity, lower-income families will be prioritized.
The first phase of Right to Counsel applies to the zip codes with the highest eviction rates in the state. In New Haven, those areas include 06511, 06513, and 06519. The Bar Foundation aims to expand eligible regions over the next two years.
Additionally, veterans can access legal representation through the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center.
Prior to the Right to Counsel program, legal aid organizations have had limited resources to represent the volume of tenants facing eviction. In 2019, landlords filed 2,105 evictions against New Haven tenants, according to Connecticut Fair Housing Center data. Across the state and country, Black and Latino tenants are more likely to face eviction proceedings than other tenants.
NHLAA’s Rosenthal described needing to “triage” cases and make “really hard decisions” about whom to represent. Prior to the pandemic, the organization prioritized tenants receiving government rental assistance, such as federal Section 8 vouchers, because those tenants could lose their subsidies if evicted.
In the spring of 2021, more than 80 percent of landlords showed up to court with a lawyer, while just 7 percent of tenants had legal representation.
For tenants, access to an attorney often makes the difference between keeping and losing their homes. The constantly-shifting layers of pandemic policies have made the jargon-filled housing court system only more confusing. According to the Connecticut Fair Housing Center, tenants are 89 percent more likely to be evicted if they don’t have legal representation throughout the housing court process.
Rosenthal said she hopes that more tenants will be aware of their rights as a result of the program. Across the state, 37 percent of tenants who receive eviction notices do not respond or show up in court — leading to a “default judgment” against them. There are “a lot of people who don’t understand the court papers, or are scared and don’t know what to do,” Rosenthal said. “People need to know that they have rights and options. An eviction notice doesn’t mean the end.”
Right to Counsel is not only likely to empower tenants facing eviction proceedings — it may also reduce the number of evictions filed in the first place by changing the balance of power in housing court and encouraging landlords to seek other means of resolving tenant disputes. After New York City enacted a Right to Counsel program, eviction warrants themselves have dramatically declined by 77 percent.
Rosenthal said she hopes that the guarantee of legal representation will “change the frame of the eviction court itself” by making the process a last resort for landlords.
For the next two years, the program will be funded by $20 million in federal pandemic relief funds. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is contributing $2.4 million toward addressing language barriers.
Advocates for the program anticipate that a Right to Counsel will reduce the cost of other social services. Fewer evictions could lead to less of a need for homelessness and health resources for those with unstable housing.
The New Haven Legal Assistance Association has been preparing for the Right to Counsel program by expanding its staff and undergoing new trainings to handle a wider array of tenant-landlord situations. The organization currently has four attorneys devoted to housing court as well as a handful of others who work on housing cases part-time. Rosenthal said that as the program phases in, the organization is aiming to hire up to 13 attorneys dedicated to housing cases. They have one new lawyer working on housing as of this week.
Each legal aid attorney in the program is expected to take on an average of 100 cases per year, according to Natalie Wagner, the executive director of the Connecticut Bar Foundation.
“It’s a massive undertaking,” said New Haven Legal Assistance Association lawyer Shelley White. “We anticipate being very busy.”
Both Wagner and Rosenthal urged eligible tenants to seek representation as soon as they learn they will be evicted. “The earlier that someone calls in the process, the more that a lawyer can do for them,” Wagner said.
Connecticut’s new Right to Counsel hotline number is 1 – 800-559‑1565. The program website can be accessed at evictionhelpct.org. Legal aid associations across the state also offer free legal advice at ctlawhelp.org.
"Advocates for the program anticipate that a Right to Counsel will reduce the cost of other social services. Fewer evictions could lead to less of a need for homelessness and health resources for those with unstable housing."
This program merely shifts costs from government social services to private landlords, whom the "housing advocates" expect to provide free housing. Of course, nothing is free. Landlords will raise rents to cover these costs, actually making housing less affordable. Small landlords, without the large customer base to spread the added costs onto will sell to foreign outfits like Netz.