Giving Compass' Take:

· A new study led by the consulting firm Stout has found that the costs and benefits of providing city-sponsored legal representation for tenants facing eviction may actually save cities money. 

· Is this the most effective approach to the housing affordability crisis? 

· Read about a company working to help tenants facing eviction in Seattle. 

Landlord-tenant court is a notoriously nasty place. In New York, for example, housing court has become a tool of landlords trying to push out rent-controlled tenants. In Philadelphia, one out of every 14 tenants faces eviction every year, and those fights play out in housing court.

Those legal battles are costly for the city, and often confusing for tenants who don't always know the law and procedures, and struggle to keep up with the jargon. Low-income tenants especially face difficulties since they cannot afford lawyers.

But a new study put together by the consulting firm Stout, and ordered by the Philadelphia Bar Association, could make headway into changing that. The report looks into the costs and benefits of providing city-sponsored lawyers to low-income tenants facing eviction. In 2017, Philadelphia began a pilot program providing these services to low-income tenants in specific zip codes.

Read the full article about helping tenants facing eviction by Karim Doumar at Pacific Standard.