New program is a game-changer for Fresno renters who are facing illegal evictions

Fresno renters just received some key help in the effort to remain in their homes.

The city has launched its first-ever Eviction Protection Program. The aim is to give legal aid to renters who think they are being illegally evicted from their homes.

Why is such aid important? Because renters are completed outmatched in court when it comes to eviction proceedings. Only 1% of tenants have the help of an attorney, compared to 73% of landlords, according to local housing advocates who have studied the eviction process in Fresno’s courts.

Renters get rightly evicted when they fail to pay rent or violate laws. But they also get wrongly booted out when they raise legitimate complaints about health or safety conditions in their units. That happened this year at the rundown Manchester Arms apartment complex that has been profiled by the FresnoLand staff.

Te city now has a way for renters to get legal help, and that will be a game-changer in terms of keeping people housed and off the streets.

How it works

The program will use both the city attorney’s office and a private legal team to help renters. When a tenant believes they are being unfairly evicted, that renter can contact the city attorney for an initial screening interview.

If the case is deemed to be valid, the next step is mediation if either the tenant or landlord request it. Otherwise, the tenant is referred to Emerzian Shankar Legal Inc. for representation. There is no cost to the renter; $750,000 in federal funds is paying for the program’s launch.

“The majority of folks living throughout our city are renters, and when you’re a renter, that threat of eviction is one that always looms over you, warranted or not,” said City Council member Tyler Maxwell, co-author of the resolution and District 4’s representative. Also sponsoring the measure was District 7 Council member Nelson Esparza.

“When that power dichotomy exists, it often puts our tenants at a disadvantage, especially if they’re not aware of their fundamental rights as renters,” Maxwell said.

Why it is needed

Fresno has seen its monthly rents skyrocket quicker than almost anywhere else in the nation. According to apartmentlist.com, Fresno rents have risen a whopping 25.1% year over year, giving it the third-fastest increase among the nation’s 100 largest cities. At the end of July 2020, rents were increasing 2.8% year over year.

When measured on a list of affordable cities experiencing fastest pandemic-era rent growth, Fresno leads the way among the 50 largest cities, the website says.

As examined from January 2017 to July 2021, Fresno rents have gone up 53.7%. In dollar terms, average rent in January 2017 was $934 a month. Today it is $1,436. That’s a jump of $500 per month.

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.

When landlords remove tenants for no good reason other than a desire to jack up monthly rates, it endangers people who have no other place to go. That can lead to homelessness.

Some worries have been raised about the new program. Housing advocates have questioned using the city attorney’s office, and not a judge, to determine if an eviction was unlawful. They also hope the city uses the experiences of tenants in eviction proceedings to make the program work better.

In an April editorial in support of tenants having legal aid, The Bee Editorial Board noted that keeping people housed is a public good. That remains true today. The City Council is to be commended for launching the Eviction Protection Program. The duty is now on the city attorney’s office to make it work as intended.