Boston Council Hearing Explores Pilot Program to Give Tenants Legal Counsel in Eviction Cases

BOSTON — March 21, 2024 — Boston councilors push for a right-to-counsel pilot for tenants facing eviction as execution orders hit 954 in 2023. The Committee on Housing and Community Development held a hearing Thursday on Docket 0265, co-sponsored by lead sponsor Councilor Benjamin J. Weber and Council President Ruthzee Louijeune, exploring a program that would give low-income tenants legal representation in housing court, where roughly 90 percent of landlords have attorneys and fewer than 5 percent of tenants do. Sheila Dillon, the city's Chief of Housing, reported that eviction execution orders climbed from 129 in 2020 to 954 last year, with average rent owed of $4,500 in non-payment cases; the city currently spends roughly $500,000 annually on a Greater Boston Legal Services contract that funds three attorneys and two paralegals. Georgetown law professor Nicole Summers presented research showing that 96 percent of motions to issue execution against tenants who violated probation-style settlement agreements were granted by judges, and that only 4 percent of Eastern Housing Court cases ever reach trial. Annette Duke of the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute noted that Governor Healey's proposed FY25 budget includes a $3.5 million startup line item for statewide access-to-counsel, with a Boston Bar Association study estimating a full program would save Massachusetts more than $63 million annually.