About the Report

This site highlights Stout’s annual independent evaluation of Cleveland’s Eviction Right to Counsel for 2023, published January 31, 2024.

As of July 1, 2020 – the City of Cleveland was only the 4th city in the United States to legislate a Right to Counsel in eviction cases.

The effort is funded initially as a public-private partnership, with a goal of being fully funded by government support as studies highlight long-term sustainability and return on community investment.

In September 2020, Stout was engaged as the multi-year evaluator of Cleveland’s Eviction Right to Counsel. Over the past 3 1/2 years, Stout has worked with United Way and Legal Aid to collect and analyze data, learn from the experience and expertise of Cleveland eviction ecosystem stakeholders including Legal Aid staff attorneys, paralegals, and attorneys representing rental property owners, and develop an iterative approach to evaluation.

Key Outcomes

Legal Aid attorneys were overwhelmingly successful in achieving clients’ eviction case goals, including but not limited to: preventing eviction judgments, securing time to move, and mitigating damages.

Also, in 2023 more Cleveland residents who were eligible asserted their Right to Counsel: Legal Aid has represented approximately 79% of all eligible Cleveland households facing eviction.

Stout’s evaluation of Cleveland’s Right to Counsel through December 2023 resulted in many new and unique insights including, but not limited to:

Prevent Evictions, Helps Tenants Achieve their Goals Prevent Evictions, Helps Tenants Achieve their Goals
Identify, Respond to Poor Housing Conditions Identify, Respond to Poor Housing Conditions
Respond to an Eviction Crisis that Disproportionately Impacts Black & Female Households Respond to an Eviction Crisis that Disproportionately Impacts Black & Female Households
Leverages Interventions, like Rental Assistance Leverages Interventions, like Rental Assistance
Create Economic and Fiscal Benefits Create Economic and Fiscal Benefits
Increase Access to Justice Increase Access to Justice

Download the Executive Summary

Download the Full Report

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