How a Louisville program became a last line of defense for renters facing eviction

As eviction filings in Louisville rise to pre-pandemic levels, city officials say it's more important than ever to continue a program that provides free legal representation to low-income renters.

A Right to Counsel initiative launched in April 2021 is expected to again receive funding in the city's upcoming budget, becoming one of the main protections remaining for tenants who face removal from their homes.

Through the COVID-19 pandemic, a federal moratorium prohibited evictions for non-payment of rent, while millions of dollars in assistance helped tenants catch up.

But the moratorium ended in August 2021, and Louisville has since run out of assistance funds — though renters can now apply through Kentucky's Healthy at Home Eviction Relief Fund.

The protections had worked to lower eviction filings in Jefferson County over the last two years. But according to state data, filings in 2022 are now on par with those in 2019.

"I do think we are looking at the edge of a cliff," said Louisville Metro Councilwoman Cassie Chambers Armstrong, who initially proposed the Right to Counsel program. "We'll soon start seeing a big spike in evictions being filed. The goal is to help folks navigate that without people becoming displaced."

More than a dozen cities nationwide now have Right to Counsel programs that guarantee legal representation for renters, who are disproportionately Black and often cannot afford to hire attorneys for eviction cases.

Proponents of the programs say they put tenants on a more even playing field with landlords and give them a better chance of keeping evictions off their records. They also save cities money on social services needed to assist displaced renters, Armstrong said.

In Louisville, the program is available to renters with children whose annual incomes are below 125% of the federal poverty guidelines, or $34,688 for a family of four.

"The cost of housing instability for people with children is so high, it becomes not just the right thing to do but also a smart financial investment for our city," Armstrong said.

Stewart Pope, advocacy director for the Legal Aid Society, a nonprofit that runs the program, said renters with representation are more likely to work out payment plans with their property managers or get more time to move out, while avoiding judgments that cannot be expunged.

"We've seen a lot of people that are able to maintain their current homes or even in cases where something can't be worked out that allows them to stay, they do have enough time to find somewhere to relocate and move," he said. "... I would say very few of the cases we have are just a flat out-and-out loss where the tenant gets evicted and has seven days to get out."

Since the program was established, Legal Aid attorneys have represented more than 700 families in court, Pope said.

The agency has also seen a drastic increase in requests for help from renters who don't qualify for the program, he added. Nearly 1,300 additional households received representation from Legal Aid through other funding sources in the same time frame.

The combined households served still represented just 15% of all eviction cases filed in Jefferson County between May 2021 and April 2022, according to data from the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts.

Armstrong said she'd like to expand the program to cover more low-income renters, but council members have not discussed how much such an expansion would cost.

The program received $400,000 from Louisville's general fund in its first year and is expected to get the same amount in the next budget, she said.

Metro Council budget hearings will continue through June 8, with the full council voting on the budget later this month.

Reach reporter Bailey Loosemore at bloosemore@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4646 or on Twitter @bloosemore. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: https://www.courier-journal.com/baileyl.

HOW TO GET HELP

Louisville renters who are behind on payments because of pandemic-related setbacks can apply for assistance through Kentucky's Healthy at Home Eviction Relief Fund: teamkyhherf.ky.gov.

Tenants must earn at or below 80% of the area median income to qualify. In Jefferson County, that amount is $47,450 for a one-person household.

For questions about eligibility, call 833-KYRENTS (833-597-3687) or email evict.eligible@kyhousing.org.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: How Right to Counsel in Louisville helps renters as evictions rise