Housing Right to Counsel Project

对于每天都在贫困中挣扎的个人或家庭, 驱逐的后果可能远远超出失去家园的范围. Evictions are fundamentally destabilizing. 在哥伦比亚特区找到一个新的住所可能需要几个月或几年的时间, where the supply of affordable housing is declining. 在此期间，那些没有朋友或家人可以依靠的人可能被迫流落街头或住在避难所. Children may stop attending school. 找工作或保住工作的前景变得更加困难.

公共住房和补贴住房的租户尤其脆弱
如果一个人或家庭被赶出公共或补贴住房, 他们将失去住房，很可能失去住房补贴. In the District of Columbia, where there are 40,000 people on a subsidized housing waiting list, which has been closed to new applicants since 2013, 一个被驱逐的人几乎肯定不会再获得公共住房.

Landlord and Tenant Court in the District of Columbia
Landlord and Tenant Court in the District is harsh. It is often referred to as “eviction court.他说:“在民政事务总署的业主及租客处，每年有超过三万四千宗驱逐个案.C. Superior Court. There is a severe imbalance of power in this court, 那里95%的房东都有澳博app代理, while 90-95 percent of tenants appear pro se. Without legal representation, 许多租户签署了放弃辩护的协议，因为他们不知道自己的权利.

A Lawyer Can Make a Big Difference
涉及住房补贴的案件尤其复杂, and tenants who appear pro se do not fare well. 由澳博app代理的租户保住住房和补贴的机会要大得多.

一个住房案件的结果说明了无偿代理对家庭生活的影响:

A mother of three children, one of whom is disabled, 因为几百美元的未付房租而被房东起诉驱逐. Meanwhile, 房东无视多项违反住房法规的规定，包括缺少热水, roach infestation, a hole in the ceiling, and inoperable appliances. Pro bono counsel — assigned through the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center — settled the client’s case. 房东被要求进行必要的维修，而客户则保留了她的住房补贴. 她的家人现在住在一个更健康、更安全、更有保障的地方.

房屋辩护权计划:全社区回应
In 2013, the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center with the D.C. 司法公正委员会汇集了法律服务界和私人澳博app，以解决该地区的住房危机. The result of this effort became the D.C. 《澳博app》是一项多管齐下的努力，有以下四个主要目标:

•为面临被赶出补贴住房或公共住房的租户提供法律咨询;
•改造破旧的住房和应急住房系统;
• Preserve existing affordable housing and increase production of affordable housing; and
•提起诉讼，以执行公平的住房法律，并倡导政策变化.

住房咨询权项目是这一开创性倡议的关键部分. 该项目旨在通过为居住在补贴住房中的人们增加无偿代理的机会，大幅减少驱逐, who are particularly vulnerable tenants. 住房澳博app权利项目保证为被起诉驱逐的一定比例的补贴住房租户提供免费代理.

无偿代理的重大影响是显而易见的:最近的一项分析表明，住房澳博app权利项目的客户获得赔偿令(允许美国澳博app在法律上获得赔偿的命令)的可能性要低5倍.S. Marshals to schedule an eviction) and 3.签订和解协议的可能性要高出5倍.

Law Firm and Legal Services Commitment
房屋权利咨询项目是地区法律服务提供者和澳博app事务所之间的合作努力. In addition to the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center, participating organizations include Bread for the City, the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, and Legal Counsel for the Elderly. Fourteen law firms have signed on to the project. Four law firms — Sidley Austin, DLA Piper, Jenner & Block, and Hogan Lovells — are partnered with the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center to accept subsidized housing cases.

Past D.C. 澳博app协会主席蒂莫西·韦伯斯特亲眼目睹了这一举措的影响.

“我已经接了两个病例，它们让我大开眼界. 坐在我在Sidley Austin舒适的办公室里，很难想象有人几个月付不起100美元的补贴租金，或者他们的公寓在冬天很冷，以至于他们的家人不得不在客厅里生活和睡觉以保暖. But there are many such people in our community, 这项倡议的目的是让他们在危机时刻得到所需的帮助.”

随着无偿服务和人力资源的增加，我们希望为所有面临驱逐的补贴住房租户提供法律咨询.

D.C. Right to Housing Initiative Partners
Bread for the City
Children’s Law Center
D.C. Access to Justice Commission
D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center
D.C. Law Students in Court
Empower DC
Equal Rights Center
乔治城法律中心公共代表研究所
Latin American Economic Development Center
Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia
Legal Counsel for the Elderly
Neighborhood Legal Services Program
ONE DC
People for Fairness Coalition
UDC Housing and Consumer Law Clinic
华盛顿民权和城市事务澳博app委员会
Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless

欲了解更多信息，请联系Gabriella Lewis-White [email protected].