New independent report highlights Right to Counsel keeps Clevelanders in their homes; delivers significant economic benefits for the community
Media Contacts:
Melanie Shakarian, Legal Aid Society of Cleveland: 216-215-0074
Katie Connell, United Way of Greater Cleveland: 404-895-5513
CLEVELAND (February 5, 2025) – Over the past five years, 13,285 residents asserted their right to counsel in Cleveland Housing Court through 4,517 cases, resulting in housing stability for many households.
This past week, United Way of Greater Cleveland and The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland delivered an independent evaluation to the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County leaders, highlighting the success of Cleveland’s Right to Counsel in eviction cases.
In the past year alone, from January 1 through December 31, 2024, Legal Aid assisted 3,034 residents in 1,051 eviction Right to Counsel cases. Last year, 80% of people who sought to prevent eviction or an involuntary move via Right to Counsel achieved their goal.
Stout estimates Legal Aid represented between 60% and 80% of all households in Cleveland that were likely eligible for Right to Counsel. Prior to Right to Counsel, only 2%–3% of all tenants had representation.
Stout also estimates that Cleveland and Cuyahoga County likely realized economic and fiscal benefits of approximately $35.1 million from July 1, 2020, through December 31, 2024. During the same period, the total expenses associated with RTC-C were $14.3 million, resulting in an estimated return on investment of approximately $2.46 for each dollar invested in RTC-C.
“The City of Cleveland continues to lead by supporting a right to counsel for tenants facing eviction,” says Colleen Cotter, Executive Director of Legal Aid. “Stout’s recent evaluation confirms how our public-private partnership continues to create great outcomes for individuals and the community.”
Stout’s 2025 evaluation of Cleveland’s Right to Counsel in 2024 resulted in updated insights including, but not limited to, how Right to Counsel:
- Prevents evictions and helps tenants achieve their goals
- Identifies and responds to poor housing conditions
- Responds to an eviction crisis that disproportionately impacts Black and female-headed households
- Leverages interventions, like rental assistance
- Creates public economic and fiscal benefits
- Promotes access to justice through a significant Increase in eligible tenants who accessed a lawyer
“As a proud partner in the Right to Counsel initiative, United Way of Greater Cleveland remains committed to supporting solutions that increase housing stability and economic security for families,” said Sharon Sobol Jordan, President and CEO of United Way of Greater Cleveland.
“We look forward to collaborating further this year with City and County leaders on plans for the long-term sustainability of this important right.”
Read Stout’s full report and Executive Summary at FreeEvictionHelpResults.org.
About Right to Counsel Cleveland: In 2019, Cleveland City Council passed Cleveland’s Right to Counsel ordinance with a recognition that “a lack of legal counsel for low-income tenants with minor children during eviction cases is a violation of a basic human right.” Through Cleveland Codified Ordinance 375.12, the city became the first in the Midwest and only the fourth in the United States to provide such a right. Launched on July 1, 2020, as a partnership between United Way of Greater Cleveland and The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, Right to Counsel Cleveland provides a right to free legal representation to eligible households under the ordinance.
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