U.S. gets “C-” on access to counsel in housing cases

10/16/2023 , National , Report , Housing - Evictions

The 2023 Human Right to Housing Report Card, issued by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, gives the United States a “C-” grade on security of tenure, which includes access to counsel in evictions.  The report notes that while there was no right to counsel in evictions anywhere in the country prior to 2017, “Thanks to the relentless efforts of advocates nationwide, three states and fifteen cities have established a right to counsel for tenants facing eviction.” (NOTE: since the report was published, two cities and one county added a right to counsel).


We gave input to the report card.