Could this right-to-counsel program for evictions become a statewide model?

Richmond resident Jana Hobbs pets her beagle "Bug," in her apartment on Aug. 12, 2024. Charlotte Rene Woods / Virginia Mercury

While the sense of what makes a place a home can be strong, Jana Hobbs knows how fragile the ability to remain in a home can be.

From a transient childhood to a portion of her younger adulthood spent unhoused and on drugs, to coping with mental health issues, Hobbs has had to overcome obstacles to create the sense of home she has now with her longtime partner, their grandson and puppy in an apartment on Richmond’s North Side.

Hobbs says she and her neighbors could be one medical emergency, family crisis or lapse in employment away from being at risk of losing their housing. It’s part of why she’s “fired up” about ways local and state governments can help people and has started getting involved with the advocacy group New Virginia Majority.

She applauds the city for tucking $500,000 into its latest budget for a right-to-counsel (RTC) pilot program — which would provide a lawyer for a tenant facing eviction if they could not afford one — and she hopes it can become permanent.

“There’s a right to counsel for criminal proceedings, so why shouldn’t we have it for civil cases?” she asked.

Richmond council member Andreas Addison proposed the program after sitting in on fast-paced eviction cases in Richmond.  According to an RVA Eviction Lab report through Virginia Commonwealth University, 40% of evictions in the city last less than 60 seconds in court and Richmond’s eviction rate is the second highest in the nation.

“When you see a posting of an eviction notice on your door, you’re given pretty much two options — either pay what’s owed or leave,” Addison said.

But he thinks the “third option” — connecting with legal counsel — could help resolve matters out of court, or at least ensure residents going through court are represented by professionals with deeper understandings of the law.

For instance, Addison said that he saw someone he’d known from high school while watching evictions in court. She had set up a separate savings account specifically for her rent payments, which she’d been withholding over maintenance issues. Addison said she’d presented the judge with receipts of correspondence about fixing her apartment to “take her landlord to task” on the matter.

“I was like, ‘wow, why is this the way to resolve that problem?’” he said. “My former classmate had read up on what to do and how to handle things, but that’s not what everyone can do.”

Hobbs concurs.

“We’re not lawyers,” she said of some renters. “People aren’t always going to be able to represent themselves.”

With legal counsel, Addison believes residents can also become more aware of existing city resources they can tap into like utility bill assistance, or be able to resolve missed payments with their landlords outside of court.

“Unfortunately there are many people in our city that are living paycheck to paycheck,” Addison said. “We need to understand, you know, what’s really going on.”

Funding earmarked for next year

Richmond’s program can be a testing ground for applying in other Virginia localities or exploring a statewide program. John Pollock from the National Coalition for Right to Counsel worked with Addison on Richmond’s pilot.

“The pilot does not create a right itself,” Pollock said. “What it will do is expand representation with the hopes of gathering data on how impactful that representation is, which would then allow for a push for an actual right.”

In the meantime, the city will need to set up the program and funding is earmarked for next year.

A spokesperson for Richmond’s mayor said that the city would tap a yet-to-be-determined nonprofit organization that could provide the legal counsel rather than hiring or reallocating lawyers in city hall.

“It’s not going to be in-house,” the spokesperson said. “We’re supporting a nonprofit that’s going to provide these services.”

Similar work has already been tested nearby. Equal Justice Works, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit, partnered with local nonprofits where 7 in 10 cases saw success for tenants, according to a 2022 report .

While Richmond’s city-sponsored RTC pilot will be new, 17 localities nationwide have adopted right to counsel for tenants facing eviction, including Cleveland, Ohio; Baltimore, Maryland; and Louisville, Kentucky.

In New York City, which launched the first program six years ago, 84% of households represented in court were able to remain in their homes . Now, a bill is pending in New York’s legislature to take the program statewide by creating the Office of Civil Representation in New York, responsible for sorting out the staffing of lawyers. Sen. Rachel May, the bill’s patron, says there’s no guarantee it will pass.

“A bill will kind of pioneer in New York City, and then when we try to move it to the whole state, it can be harder,” May said.

In Virginia, Del. Mike Jones, D-Richmond, said the state’s appropriations committee would have to examine the fiscal impact if the legislature were to pursue some form of statewide RTC program. Jones was previously a member of Richmond’s city council. As Richmond’s own pilot gets off the ground, it can be something for state lawmakers to observe, he said.

Hobbs is curious to see how the pilot plays out and housing policy is top of mind amid Richmond’s city council and mayoral elections this year.

In the meantime, Addison said that making sure there is public outreach about the pilot once it’s up and running in Richmond will be crucial. Though he’d hoped for more funding initially, he’s eager to see how things go.

And, he said, “I think this is a good step in the right direction.”