Tackling eviction cases in Cincinnati

Last year more than 13,000 evictions were filed in Hamilton County, says Shannon Price, the same-day attorney for the program, which launched in September. 

“For the vast majority of those filings, the tenant never has legal representation,” explains Price, who is also a visiting professor in the UC College of Law. “Our program is designed to try and target the really enormous legal services gap for low income families - a gap that currently causes  many hundreds of families to go through the eviction process without having legal representation.

So far Price has made almost 500 appearances on behalf of more than 250 households as part of the Access to Counsel Limited Representation Pilot Program. More than 90 percent of program court appearances result in a positive outcome for clients, with either more time to remedy the situation or an outright dismissal of the eviction.

Price says the number of evictions are up in Cincinnati and across the nation.

“You see more and more competition for decent units,” says Price. “When you see folks who are making higher salaries and staying in the rent pool by choice, it means that landlords are going to rent to them and not rent to lower income folks or be less forgiving when a tenant starts to fall behind on the rent.”

For some families this creates a precarious position where one unexpected expense or a decision by a landlord to flip a property and charge higher rent can land a household in eviction court, says Price.

“Once I talk to the client and understand what their needs and what their situation is I will go speak to the landlord and landlord counsel and say ‘How can we work this out in a way that is advantageous to both parties,’” Price told Fox 19.

Clerk of Courts Pavan Parikh says more than 60% of Cincinnati residents are renters and that assistance for these households is vital. He says the program has been incredibly successful so far.

The City of Cincinnati offered the initial seed money for the pilot program. Cincinnati Council Member Meeka Oweens says the program is about family stabilization and making communities better and stronger.

The Help Center opened in 2017 and has a staff of attorneys and paralegals and relies on student volunteers from the UC College of Law. 

Nick Zingarelli, director and chief attorney of the Hamilton County Help Center, says housing issues, such as evictions and rent escrows, are what draw most clients, but the center also assists by providing advice on debt, garnishments and other financial matters along with small claims matters and collecting a judgment. 

Zingarelli, also a UC Law staffer, says the center assisted more than 23,000 individuals last year.

Listen to the segment on Fox 19.

Featured photo of an apartment complex courtesy of Istock.