PRB

A new study of Washington State’s groundbreaking Right to Counsel (RTC) program finds that legal representation may reduce psychological stress and improve housing stability for evicted tenants.¹ However, despite broad eligibility, tenants are still only half as likely as landlords to have legal representation under the new program, reports study author Will von Geldern at the University of Washington.

The Housing Crisis Behind Courtroom Doors

America’s rental housing crisis has transformed eviction from an occasional occurrence into a common experience—with significant consequences for families and communities. About 7.6 million people, including nearly 3 million children, face eviction filings annually. Women and Black Americans are disproportionately affected, in part due to structural racism in housing markets.

The eviction process itself is linked to a cascade of health problems that extend beyond losing one’s home. From the initial threat through physical removal, tenants experience declining physical and mental health. The psychological burden is compounded by a legal system that historically favors landlords, who are more likely to have attorneys than the tenants they seek to evict.

Unlike many other nations that guarantee legal representation in housing cases, most American tenants face eviction proceedings alone. In 2021, Washington State took action to address this imbalance, becoming the first state to provide universal legal counsel through a Right to Counsel program for low-income tenants.

The stakes of these cases extend beyond individual families to entire neighborhoods, where high eviction rates create social isolation and stress-related health conditions that ripple through communities, affecting even those who’ve never faced eviction themselves.

Improving Population Health Through Legal Aid

that having a lawyer provided psychological stability during one of the most stressful experiences of their lives.

For some tenants, eviction stress was debilitating. Avery, a 37-year-old white nonbinary tenant, described how the combined trauma of a breakup and eviction disrupted their daily functioning:

Avery: “It was incredibly overwhelming and depressing and heart breaking, and I had to start therapy … when you’re going through that, you don’t have any other emotional bandwidth to deal with anything else in your life. And then if you’re going through other things – which generally you are if you’re going through an eviction – it could be too much.”

Interviewer: “And how about when you contacted [legal aid provider]?”

Avery: “It made me think that it was possible for things to be okay.”

Attorneys successfully prevented forced moves, reduced monetary judgments that could lead to long-term debt and financial insecurity, and helped tenants preserve their existing housing arrangements. According to program administrators, more than 80% of clients secured permanent housing, with approximately 56% able to stay in their current home.

The health benefits of legal aid extend beyond immediate stress relief. Housing stability may have long-term physical and mental health benefits The Washington State study, for example, reported a strong link between legal representation and court orders that prevent eviction filings from showing up in public databases or credit/background checks that landlords use. By preventing forced moves (and their associated health consequences), legal representation could have help improve health equity, particularly for communities historically targeted by discriminatory eviction practices.

Despite these benefits, the Washington program has a troubling gap in reach, the research revealed. Although the program covers households earning up to 200% of the federal poverty line, and courts are required to offer counsel to qualifying tenants, many still navigate the judicial system without representation. Nearly 40% of cases filed in early 2024 resulted in default judgments, typically issued when tenants fail to respond properly to eviction summonses or connect with attorneys.

The disparity is stark: While nearly all landlords (97%) had access to legal representation, only 45% of evicted tenants did. This imbalance suggests that even well-intentioned universal programs face implementation challenges that can limit their impact.

“Policymakers may need to increase representation rates to maximize the population health benefits of RTC programs,” von Geldern concluded. This may require more effective outreach efforts, streamlined court procedures, and additional resources to ensure eligible tenants can get the help they need.