Dereen Shirnekhi Photo
New Haven Legal Assistance Association Executive Director Alexis Smith, state Commissioner of Housing Seila Mosquera-Bruno, and U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro at Friday's press conference.
Rosa DeLauro is working to make sure that tenants have lawyers when they face eviction the same way their landlords do.
DeLauro, New Haven’s U.S. representative, highlighted that goal at a press conference Friday about her re-introduction of the Eviction Prevention Act in Congress.
In Connecticut, more than 90 percent of tenants taken to housing court for an eviction do not have a lawyer with them. Meanwhile, more than 80 percent of the time, their landlord does.
If passed, DeLauro’s bill will authorize a grant program where state and city governments can apply for funding totaling no less than $1 million to hire attorneys to represent tenants with incomes less than 125 percent of the federal poverty level — or, $37,500 for a family of four. This is known as the “right to counsel” — allowing tenants in civil cases to enjoy the same guarantee of representation enjoyed by criminal defendants who can’t afford lawyers. The grant program would make $125 million available annually for fiscal years 2024 through 2028.
The act would also lead to the creation of a national database of evictions within a year of its enactment. It would mandate that the Government Accountability Office conduct an analysis of the limitations of the current legal system for tenants at risk of eviction.
DeLauro first introduced the Eviction Prevention Act in 2018. At Friday’s press conference, held on the second floor of the Orange Street headquarters of the New Haven Legal Assistance Association (NHLAA), she spoke of how the issue is personal to her.
When DeLauro was 9 years old, one Friday night she and her parents came home to find their belongings on the street, she recalled. They had been evicted. They would need to live with her grandmother until they got back on their feet.
“Not everyone can go live with a grandmother, or aunt, or uncle, or family member,” she said. “Eviction turned our world upside down.”
Connecticut already has its own right to counsel program, which launched in January 2022 and expanded in January 2023. DeLauro stated that the legislation will increase reliable resources for existing programs so that they can serve more people. Connecticut’s current funding through UniteCT is only accounted for through September 2025; the federal grant program could solidify funding for years to come.
The Connecticut Bar Foundation oversees the administration of the state right to counsel program. At Friday’s press conference, association Executive Director Angela Schlingheyde said that the program has served 4,022 clients since its inception through the end of November 2023.
“Having an attorney means everything to these clients,” she said, explaining that representation goes beyond interpreting complicated legal jargon (though that is important). Attorneys can buy tenants more time and prevent a disruptive move, while also helping tenants find new housing.
“You cannot talk about access to justice if you are going to court and the person who is being evicted does not have access to counsel. That is not justice,” she said.
Connecticut Fair Housing Center Staff Attorney Leah Levinger highlighted the fact that evictions disproportionately impact Black and Latino families, who are more than twice as likely to rent than White families, and who are less likely to have representation than White tenants.
NHLAA Executive Director Alexis Smith approximated that, while private attorney costs differ, the average local attorney charges $150 to $300 per hour.
Schlingheyde said that researchers estimate that the state has saved approximately between $17.6 and $22.4 million as a result of the program.
DeLauro finished the press conference by describing the fear and insecurity of tenants facing eviction without counsel, and the fact that “they are at the mercy of a system.”
“That’s what we’re trying to do, is to provide them with the access to have counsel. We know that you take your chances — you may succeed, or you may fail, but you have representation. Someone who is helping to fight the battle for your security and your family’s security.”
