Legal services use fed. funds for tenant rep / right to counsel

Overview

 

In 2020 and 2021, Congress created a number of new federal sources of funding that can be, and have been, tapped to expand tenant representation with an eye towards a right to counsel.  We have produced a summary of these sources and their parameters, and also held a webinar going through these sources (check out the webinar recording and slide deck).  We also penned an opinion piece in The Appeal that lays out the rationale for using the funds for right to counsel, and have a 2-pager to share with audiences interested in exploring this.  And a joint letter from HUD, Treasury, and the Attorney General's Office urged the use of these funds to support a right to counsel. 

 

For more details on some of the jurisdictions that have used federal funds in this way, check out Civil Legal Aid Funding in the Time of COVID-19 in the MIE Journal, as well as our spreadsheet of details from some jurisdictions.  

The rest of this page provides examples from jurisdictions that have taken this step.  This is not an exhaustive list, as there is no central reporting for these funding allocations and so the NCCRC has gathered what information it can through its network.

 

CARES Act funding

  

* = funding used for right to counsel

** = funding used for universal representation

Alaska ($200k ESG), Atlanta ($150k CDBG-CV), Baltimore ($2.5 million CDBG-CV), Bucks County PA ($50k CDBG-CV in 2020, $97,500 CDBG-CV in 2021), Chicago ($500k CRF, $500k CDBG), Cincinnati ($4k CDBG-CV); Chester County PA ($67,500 CDBG-CV); Clark County NV ($400k CRF), Cleveland ($700k CDBG-CV), Columbus OH ($250k CRF), Colorado ($350k CRF), Colorado Springs ($150k CDBG-CV), Delaware ($100k CDBG from New Castle County, $50k CDBG-CV from Sussex County, and $750k CDBG-CV/$250k ESG from Delaware State Housing Authority for 2021), Detroit ($2.2 million CDBG-CV), Dothan AL ($50k CDBG-CV), Illinois ($225k CDBG-CV, $170k supplemental OAA Title III-B funding), Kansas City ($120k CRF), Lawrence MA ($397k CDBG-CV), Los Angeles ($3 million CDBG-V), Massachusetts ($8.6 million CRF; part of Eviction Diversion Initiative), Michigan ($4 million CRF, $2.25 million ESG), Montana ($400k CRF), Montgomery County PA ($67,500 CDBG-CV), Nevada ($400k CRF), New Bedford MA ($95k CDBG-CV); New Jersey ($1.3 million CDBG-CV), New York State ($25 million CRF), Orange County NC ($42,950 CRF for 1/2 of atty salary) Pennsylvania ($8 million CRF or cases, outreach, necessary costs; some used for non-eviction cases), Pima County AZ ($2 million CRF), Phoenix ($850k CRF), Providence ($50k CDBG-CV), Rhode Island ($1.3 million CDBG-CV), Rochester New York** ($460k ESG), Salt Lake County ($865k CARES), San Mateo County ($1 million CDBG), Santa Ana CA ($250k ESG), Texas ($4.2 million CRF as part of Eviction Diversion Program through TX Supreme Court, $500k ESG), Toledo ($100k CDBG), Vermont ($550k CRF), Washington State ($800k CRF), Wilmington NC ($880k CDBG-CV), Worcester MA (up to $100k ESG). 

 

Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP 1 and 2)

 

* = funding used for right to counsel

** = funding used for universal representation

 

Chicago ($8 million over 3 years), Cincinnati ($500k), Cleveland ($1 million), Columbus OH ($600k), Cuyahoga County OH ($1 million for all suburbs outside Cleveland), Fresno ($750k), Indianapolis ($3.3 million), Kansas (fee-for-service model, but $2 million theoretically appropriated), Kansas City* ($1.8 million), Long Beach CA ($900k), Los Angeles ($6-7 million), Louisville* ($400k), Maine ($412k) Michigan ($16 million over 2 years), Minneapolis ($1 million), Missouri ($1.079 million), New Hampshire ($250k), New Orleans* ($2 million), New York State ($25 million), North Carolina ($8 million), Oklahoma ($2.6 million), Rhode Island** ($500k), San Antonio ($2 million), San Diego ($15 million), Sonoma County CA ($1.4 million over 2 years), Tarrant County TX ($500k), Texas ($20 million), Virginia ($2.5 million), Wyoming ($1 million)

 

To see how much each jurisdiciton has spent of its ERA funds, check out NLIHC's ERA Spending Tracker.

 

Fiscal Recovery Fund (FRF)

 

We now have a compilation of FRF allocations along with relevant details.  The Treasury Department also has a factsheet with examples of FRF funding going towards legal representation.   

 

Notably, in Connecticut and New York City, these allocations are going towards a right to counsel, while in Milwaukee County it is being used for universal representation.

 

Other pots

Baltimore ($1 million CDBG-CV), Charlottesville ($360k ARPA over 3 years; specific pot unknown), New Jersey ($1.3 million CSBG), Winston-Salem NC ($100k ARPA; specific pot unknown)