Harvard Law Reports on Renters Right to Counsel

A new Harvard Law Review report by a Kentucky state senator offers strong background on why America's ongoing "renters right to council" is gaining ground. 

Cassie Chambers Armstrong, an assistant professor of law at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law and a former member of Louisville's Metro Council, begins by noting that "Before 2017, no jurisdiction had a home renters’ right-to-counsel law. Yet, a mere five years later, three states and fifteen cities afforded renters facing eviction the right to legal representation. This policy intervention, which began in New York, has quickly and decisively swept across America."

She also notes that most of the policies do not really create a "right" because they are local or state legislation. The term "right to counsel" remains in use because the housing issue is part of the larger Civil Gideon movement, which argues that some civil lawsuits should get the same legal protection as criminal prosecutions. Eviction is one of those (another is child custody), and to find out more visit the The National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel. 

Armstrong also outlines the movements launch from success in New York City: "The coalition that won the home renters’ right to counsel in New York was well aware that their success could influence other locations, and the structure they built continues to be a framework... in 2016, a private sector firm conducted a financial impact analysis of the proposed ordinance . This analysis, called the “Stout” analysis (named after the firm that completed it), showed that a right to counsel would save New York City $320 million per year through reduced displacement, reduced eviction filings, and increased court efficiency. This quantitative data was often cited not just in the New York right-to-counsel movement, but also by similar movements in other cities."