A Lincoln program created to offer free legal assistance to people facing eviction needs more lawyers and other volunteers to handle what they fear will be an increase in eviction cases following a U.S. Supreme Court decision last week.
The high court blocked the Biden administration's most recent moratorium on evictions when it found the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which originally instituted the moratorium, did not have the authority to extend it without congressional approval.
They haven’t seen it yet, but a lapse in moratoriums — or the threat of their being lifted — has created spikes in cases in the past, said Ryan Sullivan, an associate professor at the University of Nebraska College of Law who supervises the Civil Clinical Law Program.
“Right now, we are maintaining," he said. "(But) I was just over there and volunteered this morning, and we were scrambling.â€
Since it was created, the Tenant Assistance Project has provided legal assistance to 560 households, keeping 98% of those it has helped from being immediately evicted, said Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird.
Prior to the project — created to help people facing eviction during the pandemic — 90% of all eviction cases in court resulted in eviction, with families often being forcibly removed from their homes, project officials said.
The project, a partnership with several legal, city and community organizations, brings lawyers to the courtroom to assist people going to eviction hearings. They’ve enlisted the help of law students in the Civil Clinical Law Program who do research on cases, helping the volunteer lawyers prepare to represent clients when they come to court, said Mindy Rush Chipman, director of the Lincoln Commission on Human Rights, which began the project.
The program — which is being duplicated in Omaha and has received several awards — also uses outreach volunteers to go to people’s homes once an eviction lawsuit has been filed against them. Volunteers give families a packet of information to make sure they understand they need to show up in court, get legal representation, and can sign up for rental assistance.
As soon as people get off the elevator in the courthouse, a law student and a volunteer attorney working together will greet them and offer assistance, Rush Chipman said.
In August, Sullivan said, there were 30-40 eviction cases a week.
Listen now and subscribe: | | | |
“The moratorium was one of the tools in our toolbox to keep people housed. Now that tool’s been taken away,†said Rush Chipman.
That means the research done by law students on each case is even more important so that attorneys can help people come to an agreement that works for both the landlord and the tenant.
Often, that’s helping people sign up for rental assistance for those facing eviction, a process they’ve expedited through a housing rights coordinator the city hired with federal relief funds.
Attorneys might also help negotiate a payment plan or time for the renters to leave the home and find other living arrangements. They also try to connect renters with other services they need.
Gaylor Baird said that the city’s rent and utility program has assisted thousands of residents during the pandemic and distributed more than 68% of the federal relief money received last March. More than $3.5 million from the first round of financial aid remains to be distributed.
The $8.3 million in rental assistance distributed so far has helped more than 1,700 families stay housed, Gaylor Baird said. Of that amount, 70% has gone to families whose annual income is $26,000 a year or less for a family of four.
Including other federal relief funds, the city has helped 2,728 households with rental assistance.
Gaylor Baird said the city cuts about 150 checks a week to help renters.
The remaining $3.5 million should last through October, and city officials anticipate getting between $7.5 million-$10 million more in federal money to help with rental assistance, said Nick Martinez, the city's rental assistance coordinator.
For more information on housing and utility assistance and application forms, go to and the Resident Resource page at . Tenants and landlords may also call 402-413-2085 for assistance.
Those interested in helping with the Tenant Assistant Project can contact the Nebraska State Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyers Project at nevlp@nevlp.org or 531-220-6773.