Detroit Right to Counsel Coalition (DRTC) is a group made up of Detroiters, advocates, community organizations, lawyers and faith-based organizations who believe housing is a human right.

We work together to establish and implement a right to legal counsel for people facing eviction in the City of Detroit.

MISSION AND VISION

PURPOSE

To help Detroiters facing eviction who deserve legal representation.

MISSION

To help Detroiters gain community control of housing policies and ensure all are treated with dignity, respect, and equitably in respect regarding their housing.

VISION

We have acquired power, resulting in racial equity and justice, and everyone has stable, safe, affordable, and accessible homes in Detroit, a major city where the majority of residents are black.

THE COALITION

The following 21 organizations have joined together in an effect to help Detroiters facing eviction to have legal representation.

  • ACLU Michigan

  • CD Advocate of Detroit

  • Congress of Communities

  • Detroit Action

  • Detroit Justice Center

  • Joy Southfield CDC

  • Lakeshore Legal Aid

  • Michigan Legal Services

  • Michigan United

  • Moratorium NOW

  • MOSES

  • National Lawyers Guild MI

  • Revive Detroit CDC

  • Sugar Law Center

  • UCHC Detroit

  • We The People Michigan

  • Warriors on Wheels

  • Wisdom Institute

WHAT IS A RIGHT TO COUNSEL?

DRTC Coalition is part of a national movement that recognizes the need for legal representation as a right for people facing eviction, including, but not limited to tenants, land contract holders, deed scam victims, and homeowners. Legal representation is a right in criminal cases; but in eviction cases, people are not guaranteed the right to a lawyer.  A right to counsel would require city government to fund legal representation for tenants facing eviction. A right to counsel in Detroit will help people who are at risk of stay in their homes.   

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO HAVE A RIGHT TO COUNSEL IN DETROIT:

Research shows that right to counsel helps cities and states decrease evictions, save money and also helps to decrease homelessness, drop-outs, vandalism, juvenile crime and suicide.  Evictions disproportionately impact seniors, people with disabilities and households headed by black women.

Statistics show that on average, 1 in 5 rental households face eviction each year. In the Detroit court system, 90% of landlords have legal representation and 5% of low-income tenants had legal representation. Prior to the pandemic, approximately 30,000 evictions were filed every year in Detroit. With an average household size of 2.6, this means nearly 78,000 Detroiters, adults and children, experienced the trauma of eviction every year. 

Since 2017, several major cities and one state have passed right to counsel laws; New York City, Philadelphia, Newark, Baltimore, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Denver and San Francisco. In New York City, 86% of tenants who received right to counsel representation stayed in their homes. 

In San Francisco, eviction filings decreased by 10% between 2018 and in 2019, 67% of those with a lawyer stayed in their homes.

In Detroit, 12,002 households or 31,205 people (adults and children) would likely avoid the high likelihood of disruptive displacement if a right to counsel were implemented.

Furthermore, the estimated economic benefits of a right to counsel for Detroiters facing eviction in Detroit are greater than the estimated costs of providing representation. In Philadelphia, Boston, and Los Angeles, other cities that have implemented a right to counsel, the return on investment has been at least 3:1, meaning for every dollar invested in a right to counsel, the economic return to these cities has been three times the initial investment.

The social safety net response cost savings are typically related to savings on housing programs, health care, retention of federal and state funds connected to residency, and foster care for households experiencing homelessness because of disruptive displacement.

Detroit will realize an economic value to passing and funding a right to counsel ordinance. The moral and cultural value of keeping Detroit residents in their homes and not displaced is of the utmost importance.

THE RIGHT TO COUNSEL ORDINANCE

Key Provisions we advocate for in a Right To Counsel Ordinance are as follows:

Broad & Inclusive

A guaranteed right to full legal representation for low-income occupants in residential eviction cases in 36th District Court and in housing-related administrative proceedings where occupancy is threatened.

Public Interest

Qualifying non-profit organizations who have experience, competency, and capacity shall provide full legal representation to qualifying individuals.

Client focused

The attorney-client relationship is personal and confidential.  Legal representation is provided for the purpose of obtaining a housing resolution in the best interest of the client (the person being evicted), as ultimately determined by the client.

Monitoring

Creates a coordinator position within the City to administer resources and monitor the program.

Data

Provide that the program coordinator collects disaggregated data about the parties, the nature and disposition of proceedings, and that a public report shall be made available to the general public.

Public Review & Participation

Annual review of outcomes obtained, including an annual public hearing to receive recommendations and feedback.