In October, we released a blog post from students who spent the summer observing cases in eviction court. Today, we are releasing our newest report, titled, “Eviction, Legal Counsel and the Courthouse.” In this in-depth report, we combine the data from summer eviction court observations with Virginia court records to understand how tenants are represented when facing eviction. The following is a brief excerpt from the report:

In states and cities across the country, communities have increasingly acknowledged the important role of legal counsel in reducing housing instability and preventing eviction. Indeed, in Virginia, a combination of philanthropy and state support has led to the expansion of pro bono legal support for tenants facing evictions. Yet there has been no in depth look at the courthouse experience, the role of legal counsel and the impacts for tenants of working with representation in Virginia. Between 2019 and 2020, representation in the Richmond Region increased– rising from an average of 53 tenants, or less than half of a percent of tenants, to 533 tenants, or 11% of all eviction cases in Richmond. Yet, nearly 90% of all tenants facing eviction still have no legal representation.

Be sure to check out the entire report: