The City of Dallas is providing legal services at taxpayers’ expense to tenants in the city at risk of eviction.
On Wednesday, the city council approved a one-year contract agreement with Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas “to provide legal services to Dallas residential tenants at risk of eviction and homelessness due to financial hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The contract will cost $240,000 and will be paid for with taxpayer funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.
“[We are] putting money in to beef up what already exists,” explained Council Member Adam Bazaldua on Wednesday.
According to City documents, the new contract is an extension of the current contract with Legal Aid. The council approved its first contract with Legal Aid in December 2021.
“The [Dallas] Eviction Assistance Initiative was established to provide legal support to prevent evictions and assist in preventing homelessness by providing legal counsel and services to Dallas residents facing evictions,” Bazaldua continued. “We understand that this is still a need now.”
Bazaldua said the Dallas Eviction Assistance Initiative, created in 2021, has handled 844 cases, serving a total of 1,892 residents. The City has expended $433,284 on this initiative thus far, according to the council member.
Council Member Ridley noted the “value of legal representation” in eviction cases.
“The statistics are starkly revealing about the difference in eviction rates for people who are represented by counsel as opposed to those who were without counsel,” he said.
“Without counsel, their success in avoiding eviction is in the single digits. Those with counsel — it’s 70%,” Ridley continued. “That indicates to me that there are a lot of unjust evictions taking place in the city, and it indicates to me the value of legal representation to avoid such injustice.”
Bazaldua highlighted that this initiative aims to help tenants in Dallas who would become homeless if they were evicted, thereby preemptively addressing part of the city’s homelessness crisis.
As previously covered by The Dallas Express, surveys have found that over 75% of city residents are dissatisfied with the state of homelessness, vagrancy, and panhandling throughout Dallas.
One solution that has proven successful is the “one-stop-shop” model of Haven for Hope, which has been credited with a 77% reduction in unsheltered homelessness in downtown San Antonio.
This model has polled favorably among Dallas residents, with some local stakeholders now working to bring that model to this city. However, whether the City of Dallas will support this effort remains to be seen.
