1. Two Sides to the Same Coin: How Tenants and Attorneys Can Combine to Win Housing Justice for All
- Author
-
Dentinger, Allison
- Subjects
Right to counsel -- Laws, regulations and rules -- Social aspects ,Housing courts -- Evaluation -- Social aspects ,Attorneys -- Social aspects ,Eviction -- Laws, regulations and rules -- Social aspects ,Government regulation ,Geography ,Law ,Social sciences - Abstract
One of the most destabilizing events in a person's life is coming home to find a Warrant of Eviction posted on the door. That notice indicates that the tenant's family has only days to be out of their home if they want to avoid being forced out by the eviction marshal. This is an increasing reality for low-income tenants, particularly tenants of color. The eviction crisis in the United States is a symptom of a larger housing crisis that feeds cyclical poverty. A tenant facing eviction is in a highly vulnerable position and, without intervention, is at high risk of becoming homeless. With just a single missed rent payment, a landlord can move forward with forcibly removing a tenant from their home. Even if a tenant pays rent on time and complies with the terms of the lease, they may still find themselves on the receiving end of a lease non-renewal in favor of a higher-earning tenant. The imbalance of power between a tenant and a landlord becomes abundantly clear when the two parties are standing before a judge in Eviction Court; likely, the landlord will be represented by an attorney and the tenant will not. Unrepresented tenants are denied procedural Due Process because the legal system was built by lawyers to be navigated by lawyers. As a response to the eviction crisis, tenants from across the nation are organizing a mass movement for housing justice, not only to build tenant power, but to build tenants' rights. Attorneys must join and be deeply integrated into the movement for housing justice. Having a legal education provides practitioners with a unique set of skills that movements fighting for housing justice are often lacking. Simply standing next to a tenant in Eviction Court and providing legal representation is not enough. To build a true system of housing justice, the housing movement and the legal community must become two sides to the same coin. One example of this objective is attorneys being deeply integrated into the movements to establish a Right to Counsel for all tenants facing eviction and the implementation of that right. This essay examines the direct link between the housing crisis and the eviction crisis. Then it examines why attorneys should join the movement for housing justice and the direct impact the legal community can have within the housing movement. Further, this article examines and compares locations where tenants and attorneys work together through Right to Counsel programs. Finally, this essay compares different models and mechanisms used to enact the Right to Counsel throughout the United States and shows how other ideas blend with this right to work toward a society where housing justice exists for all., Table of Contents I. Introduction 282 II. The Modern-Day Housing and Eviction Crisis 284 III. From Lawyer to Movement Lawyer 292 IV. Disrupting the 'Status Quo' of Eviction Court with [...]
- Published
- 2023