There’s a new push in Boston to ensure that people facing eviction have proper representation to plead their cases.
Living in Boston is expensive, and with the housing market tight, evictions continue to be an issue.
"The vast majority of people here are renters, and it doesn't matter what neighborhood you live in, you can face eviction," said Boston City Councilor Benjamin Weber.
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Weber, in his first formal city council speech after being elected in November, introduced a proposal Wednesday that could shake up the eviction process.
Weber, a lawyer, argued that those facing evictions should be afforded the same right to an attorney in housing court as those charged with crimes have in criminal court.
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"It is a very confusing set of laws," Weber told NBC10 Boston Wednesday. "You are in a very confusing situation, you may not even be fluent in English, and there is somebody on the other side who knows how the process works, has been doing this for years."
"A lot of law is confusing. Definitely, housing law is confusing," he added.
There is some precedent here. The Massachusetts Law Reform Institute says the COVID Eviction Legal Help Project launched in October 2020, operating under the same premise.
The Institute says the project provided legal services to nearly 5,000 evictions statewide, with 92% of those case ending in "positive outcomes."
"Our two cents is there is no amount of lawyering that can help people pay their rent when housing is really unaffordable for a lot of us," said Doug Quattrochi, executive director of MassLandlords, Inc.
Quattrochi says instead of paying lawyers, the money should be spent on rental assistance to help those struggling to pay their rent.
"The number of cases that an attorney can actually make a difference, where an attorney is a make-or-break difference for a renter, is very few compared to the huge non-payment issue we have," he said.
The Boston City Council voted Wednesday to advance Weber's proposal to the hearing stage, which Weber said could be held in the coming weeks.
