Time to Petition SB 101S (Renter Right to Counsel) Out of Committee

Senate Bill 101S, which would provide legal assistance to renters, has not been not released from the House Appropriations Committee, as per design apparrently. It was sent there by the bill’s opponents in the House leadership to die. The committee voted 3-2 to keep the bill bottled up, with Democratic Representatives Kim Williams and David Bentz voting to release the bill, and Democratic Representatives Bill Carson and Stephanie Bolden joining Republican Kevin Hensley in voting it down.  

Senate Bill 101S is an important bill that creates a right to counsel for renters, specifically for those renters in low income areas. It passed the Senate 13-7-1 with all Democrats except Spiros Mantzavinos voting for it, and all Repubicans except Gerald Hocker (who did not vote) voting no.

There is a huge need for this service. Approximately 18,000 eviction cases are filed each year in the State of Delaware, and while 86% of landlords are represented by an attorney, agent, or business manager, only 2% of tenants have representation.

Giving tenants a right to counsel will drastically decrease evictions, leading to greater housing security, family stability, and community health.  It also represents progress in the greater movement to make housing a human right.

The bill would give the right to free legal counsel to people whose income is no more than twice the federal poverty guideline. Further, it would set a floor on the money owed that can result in eviction proceedings: No action may be filed where the amount of rent owed is one month’s rent or less than $500, whichever is greater.

The legislation would further create a residential eviction diversion program modeled after Delaware’s Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program, which has helped more than 62% of participants stay in their homes since its creation in the wake of the Great Recession. Tenants in the mediation process also would be provided with a designated housing counselor, and most landlord-tenant disputes would have to pass through the diversion program before any formal legal action could be undertaken.  

The bill would allow tenants to stay in their homes if they pay all past-due rent – as well as any applicable court costs and fees – after a possession judgment has been awarded, but before an eviction takes place.  

Finally, it would create a “Right to Counsel Coordinator” position appointed by the attorney general. The coordinator would be able to contract with nonprofits offering legal representation to qualifying tenants facing eviction.

Studies have shown that tenants represented under similar right-to-counsel protections adopted by at least eight major cities throughout the country have resulted in tenants winning or settling their eviction proceedings in more than half of cases. Represented tenants are also twice as likely to remain in their homes as unrepresented tenants. Much of the nonprofits’ work is expected to focus on connecting tenants and landlords with rental assistance programs. 

Senate Bill 101S Sponsors	Yes Votes	No Votes
Townsend, Pinkney, Gay, Lockman, S.McBride	Passed Senate 13-7-1. Brown, Ennis, Gay, Hansen, Lockman, Paradee, Pinkney, Poore, McBride, Sokola, Sturgeon, Townsend, Walsh	Bonini, Hocker (not voting), Lawson, Lopez, Mantzavinos, Pettyjohn, Richardson, Wilson
Minor-Brown, K.Johnson, Lambert, Bentz, Longhurst, Morrison, Wilson-Anton
Current Status —	Voted down 3-2 in the House Appropriations Committee

“Delaware and much of our nation has been facing an eviction crisis for decades, a costly and disparate reality for far too many vulnerable tenants that’s only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Sen. Bryan Townsend, the bill’s prime sponsor.  

“We have an opportunity now to rethink how the eviction process should work in Delaware and I believe we owe it to the 101,000 renters of this state to enact a fairer, more equitable system that will help families to stay in their homes when they face temporary financial instability,” he said. “This past year, we’ve all seen how circumstances beyond anyone’s control can have wide-reaching impacts on the lives of our neighbors. No one should be cast into the streets before being given every opportunity to uphold their end of a lease agreement and yet that’s what happens to more than 18,000 households every year.” 

“Residents facing eviction often are people already in difficult situations. They’re working but struggling to make ends meet, so they definitely can’t afford a lawyer to help them, while most landlords have someone representing them,” said Rep. Melissa Minor-Brown, the lead House sponsor. “Getting evicted — especially when it’s avoidable — makes a bad situation worse. If these residents have access to legal representation, they stand a better chance of resolving these cases and staying in their homes, which is better for everyone involved. I hope this bill will level the playing field and help Delaware families avoid homelessness.”