Is there a way to keep Fresno renters from becoming homeless? Help them in legal disputes

Against the backdrop of Fresno having the nation’s fastest rise in rents in the U.S., the City Council this week has the chance to improve the stability of housing for local tenants.

This can be achieved by giving renters help in eviction proceedings. The council on Thursday will consider two plans toward that goal.

One, proposed by Council President Luis Chavez, is a mediation process that would attempt to settle differences between landlords and tenants before they get to court.

The other, backed by the Fresno Right to Counsel Coalition, would position the city as a defender for tenants by providing renters with legal assistance and representation in disputes with property owners.

There are pluses and problems with both approaches, but the good news is that there is renewed focus on housing stability for Fresno tenants. That is sorely needed: Rents in Fresno have jumped more than 37% since 2017, according to an analysis by Bee data reporter Tim Sheehan. That’s the biggest increase in average rent among top U.S. metro areas in that time.

Meanwhile, the rental vacancy in Fresno County was at a minuscule 0.7% in the last three months of 2020, with most rentals being in the city. This has led unscrupulous landlords like the one profiled in a recent Bee story to gin up any reason to evict tenants so rents can be hiked. Pushing renters out only makes them homeless or crowds them with others into housing that might already be substandard.

The problems with slum housing are well known in Fresno. The latest example was uncovered by Fresnoland reporters Monica Vaughan and Cassandra Garibay in their recent report on Manchester Arms apartments.

Mediation for tenants-landlords

Chavez bases his approach off a pilot program he ran in his southeast Fresno district the past six months. It works like this: If a tenant feels they are being wrongly evicted by the landlord, they can fill out an online questionnaire that asks them to detail the problems.

The form is then reviewed by a law clerk hired by the city attorney for Chavez’s program, which he formally calls the Keep Fresno Housed Initiative. The clerk acts as a mediator, and if the eviction looks to be unwarranted, the clerk asks the landlord for their side. The mediator drafts an opinion and invites the renter and property owner to a meeting. Hopefully, the sides can work out their dispute without going to court.

Chavez’s proposal makes clear that the mediator is a neutral party and not a legal representative for either side.

Two law clerks would be hired and the program would cost about $170,000, which would come from a fee charged to landlords.

Right to counsel idea

The Fresno Right to Counsel proposal, by contrast, would cost more, but offer better legal representation.

Under the group’s proposal, three lawyers, a legal secretary, up to a dozen part-time legal clerks and some third-year law clerks would staff the program. The effort would cost an estimated $1 million.

The RTC proposal includes an outreach to educate renters about their rights; it is illegal, for example, for a landlord to evict a tenant who complains about problems with their unit.

The legal staff would also represent tenants in their court proceedings, which is significant. Only 1% of tenants have the help of an attorney, compared to 73% of landlords, according to local housing advocates.

Lest one think evictions are not a major issue in Fresno, the Princeton University-based Eviction Lab says 2,300 such proceedings occur every year in the city. The local nonprofit advocacy group Faith in the Valley estimates 28,000 renters in Fresno have become vulnerable to eviction in the COVID pandemic.

Most effective

The Right to Counsel proposal is more robust and will actually defend renters. That is the critical need.

Chavez’s mediation proposal is better than nothing and is cheaper, but won’t be as effective. Tenant advocates say a mediation program already exists at Superior Court, and its results are mixed, at best. “Most often, mediation meant that tenants still, in their end, lost their homes,” said advocate Amber Crowell in a tweet she posted Tuesday. Her perspective was informed by months of observing eviction court.

Is it right for the city to get in the business of defending renters? Without question, yes. When it comes to contesting evictions they believe are unfair, Fresno tenants are at a distinct disadvantage in court, and they need help to keep their housing and get shoddy landlords to stop illegal evictions.

Keeping people from becoming homeless is a public good. Do this, and the overall quality of life in Fresno will rise. That benefits everyone.

This story was originally published April 7, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Is there a way to keep Fresno renters from becoming homeless? Help them in legal disputes."