07/03/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/03/2024 15:41
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said today he is co-sponsoring legislation to empower tenants and help support housing security in communities in Oregon and across the United States.
The Eviction Right to Counsel Act of 2024 would establish a fund to provide grants to state, local, and Tribal governments that enact legislation ensuring legal representation to tenants at risk of eviction, with a focus on low-income people.
The legislation also would encourage jurisdictions to enact additional tenant protections. The new program would prioritize funding to jurisdictions that establish notice periods, just cause laws, emergency rental assistance programs, and eviction diversion programs. These tenant protections would empower renters and help them to achieve more secure, safe and stable housing, reduce eviction rates, and provide a substantial return on investment by keeping people housed.
"When tenants don't have legal representation, landlords can wrongfully kick them out of their home and actually sell the house under them to the highest bidder," Wyden said. "Legal representation programs in places like Oregon protect renters from unfair evictions, maintain housing stability, and reduce homelessness. Senator Booker's bill is a crucial measure that puts power back into the hands of tenants as our country faces a dire shortage of affordable housing."
The Supreme Court's ruling in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, which allows for policies that criminalize poverty and homelessness, underscores the urgent need to protect vulnerable tenants, prevent the cycle of housing insecurity, and invest in proven, cost-effective strategies that reduce the strain on homelessness and housing services in communities.
The number of renters spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent has risen dramatically over the last two decades. While pandemic-era eviction protections shielded renters during the 2020 economic downturn, those protections have slowly ended, forcing renters back into a market with soaring prices. Today, half of all renters in America struggle to pay their rent. This situation has forced renters out of their homes, leaving them struggling, oftentimes with nowhere to go.
The Eviction Right to Counsel Act of 2024 would:
In addition to Wyden, this legislation is led by Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and cosponsored by U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
The text of the bill is here.