Compiled By Dawn Anastasi, AASEW Board Member

Jersey City, NJ

Mayor Steve Fulop and city councilmembers James Solomon, Yousef Saleh and Frank Gilmore have been working together to develop a Right To Counsel program to aid tenants in the city who can’t afford to pay an attorney to represent them in court. The $4 million annual budget would be funded through a 1.5% development impact fee on every residential project, no matter the size. The new fees are expected to generate $20 million annually. The other $16 million would be dedicated to the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

An office of the Right to Counsel will be created under the city Department of Housing, Economic Development, and Commerce (HEDC). When residents receive an eviction notice, they will receive a free consultation on their rights and be assigned an attorney if the office determines it necessary.

Solomon said developers — and even people building one- and two-family homes — would pay the 1.5% fee based on the property’s assessment before a certificate of occupancy is awarded. He said the fee, which would be phased in, won’t affect current projects that have already received site approval, but is would be fully implemented by 2025.

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Detroit, MI

Taura Brown got evicted Tuesday from her tiny home, a prospect that she has faced for more than two years, but she didn't leave without a fight and a lineup of activists trying to defend her.

Bailiffs and 36th District Court representatives arrived at Brown's tiny home on Monterey Street at 10 a.m. Tuesday, but were blocked by about 30 people with Detroit Eviction Defense, an activist coalition that comprises attorneys, trade unionists and rental tenants who argue she's being unjustly ousted. The group of 30 people linked arms to create a human wall as bailiffs attempted to break through and get into the home.

Brown has been preparing for removal from her home since a district judge ruled last month that she could be evicted from the space she's lived in since December 2019. The decision on March 22 came after a two-year court battle, and Brown was ordered to vacate within 10 days.

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Jacksonville, FL

A mix of renters and home owners gathered in Springfield Sunday afternoon for a rental housing crisis forum.

A speaker from the activist group Florida Rising told the forum about the idea for a tenant bill of rights.

He said the group is pushing Jacksonville city leaders to pass it, requiring the following:

1) Dedicated office of the tenant advocate

2) Create a publicly searchable landlord registry

3) Non-discriminatory rental application process

4) Notice of changes to lease

5) Fee transparency

6) Right to counsel and language access

7) Right to repair

The forum also brought up the idea of a tenant union - a group that could give voices to Jacksonville's tenants and make sure that bill of rights is followed.

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