Akron considers offering rent help and free legal counsel for struggling tenants

The city of Akron is pursuing $5.3 million in federal money to provide rental assistance and free legal counsel for struggling renters and to increase affordable housing options.

The proposed programs are in response to deepening concerns that too many residents are drowning in Akron's rising rental market, which has recorded one of the highest eviction rates in the country. One City Council member likened the efforts to "leveling the playing field." A top city official said right to counsel alone, as it has in other cities, could reduce eviction filing that reached record levels at the end of 2022.

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But the city doesn't have the money yet. The details are still being worked out. And the levels of funding suggested for the new programs are a fraction of what experts say would be needed or what renters burned through in federal aid these past three years.

Mayor Dan Horrigan's staff has asked council to amend a 2021 plan required annually by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Tweaking the plan would allow Akron to apply for and accept the extra $5.3 million. HUD's application for the one-time pandemic funding is due March 31.

It's unclear when the money could be released if approved, but it wouldn't have to be spent until 2030, unlike a the 2026 deadline on the $145 million in federal COVID-19 stimulus the city has received.

How would Akron use the $5.3 million to help struggling renters?

The mayor's plan for the $5.3 million includes: $3.5 million for more affordable housing units, $750,000 for a new rental assistance program; and $750,000 for a new right-to-counsel (or public defender) program for tenants facing eviction. The remaining $300,000 would cover administrative and compliance costs associated with spending the federal money, said Helen Tomic, the city's long-range planning director.

For context, Akron rental properties received $42 million in federal aid for rent and utilities since June 2020 through a county-administered program. And the head of Community Legal Aid, a non-profit agency that handles virtually all pro bono representation of tenants, told the Beacon Journal that $750,000 for right-to-counsel is about a third the funding needed to represent just half the 3,000 Akron renters facing eviction every year in Akron Municipal Court.

Beyond how far the money would go, the mayor's staff is still working out other major details, like determining which tenants get the rental assistance, which housing projects get funded and who manages the pro bono attorneys — the city or an outside firm. For now, the administration is seeking council approval to go after the extra grant money. Finer details, administration officials told council last week, will be worked out when the city releases requests for proposals (or bids) for affordable housing developers and law firms that would do the work.

Right-to-counsel program would be a first in Akron

Giving legal counsel to low-income tenants who face eviction is a relatively new concept, at least in practice, said Legal Aid Executive Director Steve McGarrity.

Cleveland City Council approved a program in 2019.

In 2021, before he knew how much the city would receive, Horrigan asked council members to pitch ideas on how to spend what would be $145 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds. Councilman Shammas Malik suggested piloting a right-to-counsel program, which housing advocates endorsed as one of several solutions at Akron's inaugural Eviction Summit in April 2022

In December, Horrigan's chief of staff, Gert Wilms, said $500,000 would be set aside to launch the program in 2023. That amount was upped to $750,000 when the city learned that the next ARPA installment, this time through the Department of Housing and Urban Development instead of U.S. Treasury, might total $5.3 million.

Wilms said Horrigan's Cabinet has discussed right-to-counsel since she came on board 13 months ago. But what that means is still unknown.

"The phrase 'right to counsel' can mean a lot of things to a lot of people," said McGarrity. Landlords with claims of unpaid rent file a first cause eviction to remove the tenant and, when they think they can get something, a second cause to go after the back rent, sometimes through court-imposed wage garnishments.

Would Akron's right-to-counsel program defend tenants in both cases? Would the pro bono attorney have the time to research and file counterclaims if, for example, the landlord failed to maintain the property or sought to exploit the tenant? Or would an attorney simply work at the courthouse, helping tenants process early motions in eviction cases?

Answers to these questions determine cost, McGarrity said. He estimates an average $1,500 bill for every eviction case his office would handle based on current costs and service levels provided in Cleveland's new right-to-counsel program. That figures out to $2.25 million for half the nearly 3,000 Akron residents served with an eviction last year, according to a Beacon Journal analysis of court records that matches McGarrity's findings.

"It's unclear in the end what this model will look like," McGarrity said of Akron's proposed program, "although I don't think the amount that (city administrators) are quoting would cover a full blown right-to-counsel program anyhow. I think it's probably a good idea to start small. If it's targeted, measure the results and see what works and what doesn't."

City administrators said the the dean at the University of Akron's law school has expressed an interest in creating an internship program for students to assist in the effort, which could be one low-cost possibility to staffing the new program.

Incentivizing more affordable housing

Tomic, who regularly steers HUD funds to curb homelessness, explained that the $3.5 million earmarked for new affordable housing could be worth more if used as "gap funding" for new low-income housing projects.

"If developers come with a package and they are showing us they have a gap — $500,000, $600,000 — then the vision is we would utilize these funds to create larger projects," Tomic recently told council in response to questions about how the money would be spent. "But we’re also looking at the development of quads and triplexes in some neighborhoods for the development of affordable rental housing."

Jeff Fusco, who chairs council's Planning Committee, acknowledged that more time would be needed to develop best practices. He said these first steps are a result of troubling reports regarding housing and evictions.

"It’s just unfortunate that it takes so long to get to a place like this, like where we’re at," he said as council decided to take time to consider, as early as Monday, the HUD grant application request. "And it’s going to take time to put it together so it’s meaningful. I think we’ve all had our eyes open to the reports that have been out there in the community and the struggles that some folks have in reference to the rental market and housing altogether."

Defining 'affordable,' quantifying the need

Truly Reaching You founder and President Perry Clark, whose non-profit agency has 24 full beds of otherwise homeless men, asked council a basic question last week in its Monday afternoon meeting.

"What is the city considering affordable housing?" he said, prompting discussion about who would be eligible for help and funds for new construction.

The pandemic laid bare the squeeze that rising rents, driven by inflation and the housing market, have put on Akron families at lower income levels.

Launched just three months into the COVID-19 pandemic, the Summit County Cares program pumped $63 million in mostly federal aid to struggling residents for housing and utility assistance. Most of that support ($44.2 million, or 70%) went to rental properties in the city of Akron, said Greta Johnson with the Summit County Executive’s Office.

As federal funds dried up, the county program wound down in October as evictions in Akron started to spike.

More:Thousands of Ohioans face eviction as federal protections end, rental assistance unspent

Akron's program, seeded with one-time federal aid, would allocate $750,000 in rental assistance. In addition, the city has used federal funds to expand the Akron Cares program to help more low-income, struggling homeowners with municipal utility bills, including water and sewer bills. The city also forgives some high bills for applicable water leaks.

Horrigan’s staff said they're looking to model Akron’s rental assistance program on the county effort, which was administered in partnership with the United Way. City officials say federal HUD guidelines that require that the funds be used to prevent homelessness and help those fleeing domestic violence or abuse will dictate eligibility requirements in the locally administered rent-relief program.

Wilms said despite strict federal rules, staff will still explore flexibility in the eligibility rules to ensure dollars are spent equitably and on those most in need. Based on existing programs, tenants could be selected based on whether they're served an eviction, how far behind they are on rent, whether their rent is affordable or the portion of their income that goes toward rent.

But certain definitions may be tricky to overcome. HUD, for example, sets eligibility for housing vouchers and some public housing programs at families earning 65% of the area median income, who would pay no more than 30% of their income toward rent. Some clients served by Habitat for Humanity, which focuses more on homeownership but is supportive of rent relief, earn up to 80% of the median area income.

HUD also has defined fair market rent this year on a range of $712 monthly for a single tenant to $1,380 for a family of four in Summit County. Families are eligible for some federal programs if renting apartments priced 80% to 110% of the fair market value, meaning a single apartment at $783 might be considered affordable and, therefore, ineligible for help. That's at or above the median rent in many Akron census tracts, according to a Beacon Journal investigation of the city's rental market conducted last year before inflation really took off.

Reach reporter Doug Livingston at dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3792.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron considers rent relief and free legal help for struggling tenants