As Right to Counsel' programs for housing court flourish, policymakers strain to maintain the staffing pipeline amNewYork

"Fast forward to this month when Bozeman, Montana made news as the 27th jurisdiction in the U.S. to adopt a similar right to counsel program. The right to council movement has become national in scope, opening up a burgeoning new sector of public interest law that has policymakers in a mad dash to find a new generation of housing attorneys to meet the post-pandemic boom in eviction filings."

"The lead-up to New York City becoming the first jurisdiction, there was really a recognition that one huge way to disrupt evictions is to have an attorney by someone's side, said Erica Braudy, a supervising housing attorney at Manhattan Legal Services. Five states, 20 cities and two counties now passed right to counsel programs providing tenants free legal representation in eviction cases. The number of pilots often predecessors to a full coverage has spread to cities like Milwaukee, Nashville, Boston, Akron, Cincinnati, Tulsa and Richmond."

"While the expansion of these programs marks a huge policy win for housing advocates and policymakers, it's collided with a level of eviction filings that surged and remained high as pandemic-era rental protections have ended, creating a growing need for more attorneys to handle the cases; along with an increase in funding to hire more lawyers. In 2023 landlords filed over 100,000 more cases than were filed in 2022 and over 500,000 more than in 2021 in the dozens of cities where the Princeton Eviction Lab tracks such data."

New York City guaranteed free legal representation for low-income tenants in eviction cases in 2017; Bozeman, Montana recently became the 27th jurisdiction to adopt a right-to-counsel program. Five states, 20 cities and two counties have passed programs guaranteeing tenants free legal representation, and pilot programs have spread to cities including Milwaukee, Nashville, Boston, Akron, Cincinnati, Tulsa and Richmond. Expansion of these programs has coincided with a post-pandemic surge in eviction filings, increasing demand for housing attorneys and additional funding. Dramatic increases in filings in 2023 have strained legal aid capacity and budgets.

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