Cincinnati data flags troubling eviction stats, positive representation results

03/30/2023 , Ohio , Report , Housing - Evictions

An 2018 eviction study commissioned by Housing Opportunities Made Equal Cincinanati and the Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio notes that fewer than 3 percent of tenants have counsel, and that tenants lose their cases 99 percent of the time.  It also determined that race is a stronger predictor of eviction rates than poverty.  Towards the end, it includes a right to counsel as one of its proposed recommendations.  

 

Additionally, a 2023 study looked at evictions in Hamilton County and found that:

 

  • Only 7% of tenants had representation, compared to 93% of landlords;
 
  • Representation dropped the issuances of eviction writs from 49.6% to 8.02%.
 
  • “Tenants with legal representation were less likely to experience physical eviction as well. During the period of the study 2,403 physical evictions were executed, 98.5% of which happened to tenants without lawyers.”
 
The 2023 study was flagged by NPR affiliate WVXU.

The NCCRC gave input on the 2023 report.