St. Louis is 22nd right to counsel jurisdiction
St. Louis has enacted an ordinance that provides a right to counsel for all tenants facing eviction. The ordinance covers both court evictions and termination of subsidies, extra-judicial evictions, unlawful utility disconnections, or the functional equivalent of any of these. The right attaches as soon as the notice to quit is received. The program must be implemented by July 1, 2024, and the Coordinator is required to work with community groups on outreach and education. Passage of the bill was covered by St. Louis Public Radio, KMOV, Fox 2, and the St. Louis Business Journal.
Notably, a 2012 study found that St. Louis tenants only won .04% of the cases that went to trial, and 46% wound up with a sheriff’s execution of eviction.
The NCCRC assisted the City Council and advocates as well.
