Connecticut is currently weighing whether to provide $2 million in additional federal funding for the state’s tenant right to counsel program. We at the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel urge the state to recognize that such an investment is justified on so many fronts that it should be not only unquestionable, but imperative.
When considering the interests at stake for a tenant facing eviction, it quickly becomes clear that virtually everything we hold dear is at risk: certainly a stable home for our families, but there is much more at stake. People with unstable housing can lose their jobs, their children, their physical and mental health, their belongings, and even their liberty if they become homeless and are arrested for living on the street.
Studies show that unrepresented tenants are almost universally unsuccessful at effectively representing their interests: for instance, a Baltimore study found that 80% of tenants had a potential defense to eviction but only 8% successfully did so without representation. Yet nationally, roughly 4% of tenants have access to representation, compared to over 80% of landlords. In Connecticut, a study found that only 7% of tenants were represented in eviction proceedings. And the vast majority of people facing eviction without representation are women of color, making the right to counsel a race equity priority.
It is against this backdrop that Connecticut became one of the first states to provide a right to counsel for low-income tenants facing eviction. Having made this commitment, it is essential the state continue to provide the funding to effectuate that right, as it is essential to ensuring the Connecticut tenant right-to-counsel program can continue to deliver services that have been shown to protect tenants’ rights and address the imbalance of power that has long been present in housing court.
Tenant right to counsel is amply supported by the data. In particular, it has helped 84% of New York City tenants avoid eviction or an involuntary move, while other cities have seen similarly impressive rates: San Francisco (60%), Boulder (63%), Cleveland (93%), Toledo (88%), and Washington State (50%).
Connecticut has seen similar results for its investment: 71% of tenants have avoided eviction while 74% of represented tenants who sought to keep eviction off their record did so. And RTC’s benefits go beyond just unit retention: for instance, in Cleveland, 92% of represented tenants who sought additional time received it, and RTC helped tenants successfully become aware of and obtain rental assistance.
But we have also seen that a RTC program’s impacts go beyond what happens in each individual case. For instance, prior to the pandemic, New York City saw the eviction rate drop by 30%, while San Francisco saw a 10% decline. And tenants have expressed that they feel more empowered to enforce their housing rights (such as complaining about the failure to make repairs or engaging in organizing) when they know they are guaranteed to have an attorney should they face a retaliatory eviction.
While the imbalance of power, race equity factors, and representation effectiveness considerations fully justify the state’s investment in right to counsel, it is also fiscally prudent. A study by an independent financial analysis company estimated that Connecticut likely realized economic benefits of $5-6 million over the course of 2022, due to avoided expenditures on Medicaid, education, and foster care, as well as lost tax revenues due to tenants leaving the state.
Putting aside the numbers, it is impossible to overstate the critical nature of tenant right to counsel. Eviction cases implicate virtually every basic human need a family can have: safety, mental and physical health, child custody, employment, education, and so on. Yet the massive imbalance of power between landlords and tenants in the courtroom has led to the evictions process becoming a pro forma procedure devoid of due process that nearly always yields the same result regardless of the facts or law. In Baltimore, where only 1% of tenants had representation prior to the passage of a right to counsel, a study found that 80% of tenants had a potential defense to eviction but only 8% successfully did so without representation.
Connecticut’s financial investment in right to counsel has innumerable justifications, and we are confident the will can follow through on its legislative commitment to the community by providing the funding necessary to this vital program’s continued success.
John Pollock is a Coordinator for the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel.