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In its six months so far, Cleveland鈥檚 Right to Counsel initiative 鈥� which guarantees legal representation for eligible residents facing eviction 鈥� has been successful in 93 percent of cases hoping to halt an eviction and provided renters with assistance in even more cases.

The program guarantees legal representation in eviction cases for tenants with children in households earning below a certain income. Despite the federal moratorium on evictions, cases are still being filed, said Legal Aid Society of Cleveland Executive Director Colleen Cotter, and the program launched in July 2020.

鈥淭he thing that鈥檚 important to remember about the moratorium is it is not an absolute ban on evictions. It provides a defense for some tenants,鈥� Cotter said. 鈥淏ut landlords are still able to file eviction cases, and they are.鈥�

Volunteers and attorneys with the Legal Aid Society and United Way of Greater Cleveland work with residents to prevent eviction, as well as provide additional time to move, dealt with utility connection problems, and recovering security deposits.

鈥淲e really didn鈥檛 totally know what to expect in launching this program,鈥� Cotter said. 鈥淭his is unlike anything we鈥檝e done before, where we鈥檙e taking on all cases without any analysis of, is there a 鈥榙efense鈥� to this?鈥�

Most of the 300 cases the program has taken on so far have involved tenants who lost their jobs due to the pandemic and are struggling to pay rent, Cotter said. But she said there are also cases of retaliatory evictions, as well as situations where a landlord refuses to accept rent payment or rental assistance funds.

Nearly 70 cases sought to halt the eviction or involuntary move. Of those, 93 percent succeeded, Cotter said.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 way more than we had even anticipated,鈥� Cotter said. 鈥淚t bodes well for the future, for the next six months and the six months after that, which is good because we have a lot ahead of us, given the pandemic.鈥�

When federal moratoriums come to an end March 31, housing advocates are still anticipating a spike in evictions, Cotter said. But the Cleveland program, which includes staff attorneys, contracted attorneys and volunteers, will expand to meet the need, she said.

鈥淲e designed the system from the beginning to be flexible, so we can expand the resources we have available as the need increases,鈥� Cotter said.

Pandemic aid, such as rental assistance provided by local and federal government agencies, has helped to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus on housing, Cotter said. Those continued efforts are needed to avoid a 鈥渃liff,鈥� she said, so residents are not facing insurmountable bills at the end of the moratorium due to months of accumulating unpaid rent.

鈥淲e think the increase is going to be pretty significant, more significant than we anticipated,鈥� Cotter said. 鈥淚n order to really stabilize the community, we鈥檙e hopeful that rental assistance will continue. It鈥檚 been critically important for tenants, for landlords, and at the end for communities.鈥�

Landlords also have positive feedback on the program, Cotter said. Getting connected with financial assistance benefits both the tenant and the property owner, she said, and ensures the mortgage gets paid.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been able to help the tenant access rental assistance to make the landlord whole,鈥� Cotter said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e willing to work with the tenants. It鈥檚 a happy ending for everybody, if the system works.鈥�

As of December 2020, more than 11,000 Cuyahoga County residents had applied for pandemic-related rental assistance, according to the United Way of Greater Cleveland. In an average year, Cuyahoga County sees about 20,000 evictions, said Nancy Mendez, the nonprofit's vice president of community investment and chief community investment officer, with about 9,000 of them in Cleveland.

鈥淚 think that speaks to a long-term conversation we need to have as a community, that this COVID crisis has really highlighted the devastation of eviction,鈥� Mendez said. 鈥淲hen we come back to some kind of normal, after COVID-19, are we going to be okay with 9,000 families continuing to be evicted in Cleveland?鈥�

While federal and local assistance has helped to combat some of the pandemic鈥檚 impact, she said, many families are still facing financial uncertainty.

鈥淩ight now, we still have 76,000 families at risk for eviction in Cuyahoga County alone,鈥� Mendez said. 鈥淲e are still dealing with a crisis here that, thankfully, there are programs like Right to Counsel. But also, the moratorium has played a role in keeping this from bubbling out of control.鈥�

Keeping families in their homes is better for mental and physical health, Mendez said, and it鈥檚 better to have that stability within the community.

鈥淏ecause of the health crisis, we understand the importance of a home right now,鈥� Mendez said. 鈥淏ut I would love to have the long-term conversation that this shouldn鈥檛 be acceptable at any point.鈥�