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Wilmington Council Hears Update on Delaware's Right to Representation in Eviction Cases; Members Urge Funding
Summary
Legal aid coordinators described the state law's eligibility rules, local implementation, use of a settlement assistance fund and a request for city support to expand settlement assistance funding; council members pledged to promote the program and explore funding options, with no formal vote.
Lisa Lessner, Right to Representation coordinator, and Sarah Rhine, managing attorney for the Community Legal Aid Society housing unit, briefed the Wilmington City Intergovernmental Committee on May 7, 2025, about Delaware’s phased implementation of the right to representation in eviction cases and requested support for a settlement assistance fund.
Lessner explained the law’s core eligibility and process: tenants with income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level may be eligible for representation; legal providers may decline for conflicts, noncompliance or lack of legal merit; and the state has phased implementation by ZIP code. “The right is called right to representation rather than right to counsel because we were successful in getting a Delaware Supreme Court rule change so that non lawyer qualified tenant advocates who report to the legal aid agencies can also represent tenants,” Lessner said.
Rhine descr…
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