PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — As of Feb. 1, low-income renters in Philadelphia zip codes 19134 and 19144 are entitled to free legal representation if they are facing eviction.
“Rental assistance is key to keeping people in their homes and I think that we saw a huge influx of federal resources to help with rental assistance, it's much needed and that need is continuing,” said Kathleen Grady from the city’s managing director’s office.
According to the City of Philadelphia, legislation for free legal representation was passed by City Council in November 2019 as a result of the mayor's Task Force on eviction reduction and prevention.
By December 2021 implementation started and the program, The Right to Counsel, officially began a few months later in February 2022, only covering the zip codes 19139 and 19121.
Kadeem Morris, divisional supervising attorney at Community Legal Services which runs the Philadelphia Eviction Prevention Project, says the program is meant to level the playing field for low income tenants.
“When someone is evicted or has an eviction filing against them, that does have an impact on them long term both on their ability to find housing and the quality of housing that they can find in the future,” Morris said.
Morris explained there are several reasons people might need to speak to an eviction attorney aside from not paying rent.
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“They could actually just have a question about, ‘I have repairs in my home that I need to get done and my landlord’s not being cooperative; How do I go about that?’ or, ‘I need to relocate because I've been involved in domestic violence and I'm trying to figure out what resources are available to do that’ – Those types of cases all fall onto the umbrella of right to counsel,” Morris said. “It's not just, a ‘I stopped paying rent program.’”
Grady added that the program is like a safety net once you're in court.
“Once it's gotten to the point where you're facing eviction, here’s a resource for you to have.”
She said the ultimate goal is to scale the program city-wide.
For more information about Right To Counsel, visit their website or reach out to the Philly Tenant hotline at 267- 443 - 2500.