Activists: Giving renters’ right to counsel would save Md. money

Every $1 spent providing legal services to low-income residents facing eviction generates a 624% return on investment for Baltimore and Maryland, according to a report released Monday.

With hundreds of thousands of state residents out of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic, evictions are poised to surge throughout Maryland when emergency orders barring evictions are lifted, activists said during a news conference . The only way to ensure renters are dealt with fairly, advocates said, is ensuring they have access to legal representation.

“People are getting evicted, not because they’re doing anything wrong, but because they lack representation,” Reena Shah, director of the Maryland Access to Justice Commission, said during the news conference.

Providing right to counsel in Baltimore alone would cost $5.7 million, according to the report prepared by Stout Risius Ross LLC for the Public Justice Center. Roughly $4.5 million of that expense stems from personnel costs to legal aid providers, including hiring attorneys, supervisors and paralegals. An additional $1.2 million would be needed to cover cost from service delivery and to operate a right-to-counsel system.

That cost, however, is offset by $35.6 million in savings to Maryland and Baltimore, including $12.5 million in Medicaid spending, $10.6 million in shelter and transitional housing costs, and $7.7 million in foster care expenses, the report contended.

Creating a right to counsel, according to supporters of the proposal, is about more than saving government money. It’s a matter of justice, activists said.

Landlords have “weaponized” the court system, advocates said. As rent courts are currently structured, they argue, outcomes are tilted nearly entirely in the property owner’s favor.

The report by Stout, Risius, Ross LLC found 80% of renters could raise a defense in district court against a landlord seeking eviction. But in nearly every District Court of Maryland case reviewed by researchers the tenant went unrepresented.

Only 8% of renters were able to successfully defend themselves without representation, while 92% of renters with representation avoided being displaced.

Tiffany Ralph, of the Bolton House Residents Association, said tenants continue struggling with a series of problems, including the smell of gas inundating apartments, black mold, and leaking sewage pipes. She credited the fact her association has legal representation with its ability to continue pressing the landlord for repairs.

“Landlords … they look at us as just a means to an an end,” Ralph said.

City Council President Brandon Scott, state Sen. Mary Washington and Del. Brooke Lierman were among the city officials who joined the news conference. Lierman and Washington said they support providing tenants with legal counsel, although no state legislation is pending.

“You really would’ve thought government would’ve figured this out by now,” Lierman said.

Matt Losak, executive director of the Montgomery County Renters Alliance, said the right to counsel is a statewide issue. He advocated for tackling the matter at the state level instead of one jurisdiction at a time.

“I think it’s unfortunate that this is only a Baltimore discussion,” Losak said.

Various cities throughout the country, including New York, San Francisco and Cleveland, have all adopted some form of right to counsel in recent years. A recently announced $13 million renters’ assistance fund in Baltimore is potentially the first step in the city toward ensuring the right to counsel.

The fund, paid for with Community Development Block Grant funds and approved by the U.S. Department of Housing Development, is expected to provide some money for paying for counsel to tenants facing evictions.

Matt Hill, an attorney with the Public Justice Center, said the money could be the start of a full-fledged program to provide a right to counsel in Baltimore.

“We see this as kid of a down payment,” Hill said.