Bozeman tenants urge full funding of right-to-counsel program at City Commission meeting

Speakers at the June 3 Bozeman City Commission meeting urged commissioners to fully fund a tenant right-to-counsel program that would provide legal representation to renters facing eviction, saying partial or mediation-only approaches would not protect tenants who face bad-faith landlord practices.

“Tenant right to counsel is not just for the 60 families that Bozeman's landlords are expected to evict this year. Tenant right to counsel is for every tenant who has had the threat of eviction wielded against them,” said Jacob Burgo, a leader with Bozeman Tenants United, recounting an experience in which he felt threatened with eviction after a landlord change and an administrative rent-payment error.

Other speakers told personal stories they said supported the need for guaranteed representation. Fran Hanson said she lives at Larkspur Commons and described repeated maintenance failures, the removal of handicapped parking she relies on and ongoing eviction threats; she told the commission, “When I get these eviction threats, I feel horrible because if I get evicted, I'll be out on the streets.” Mark Geyer, who described himself as fortunate to have purchased a home in 2013, said homelessness is worsening in the community and urged funding for right-to-counsel to prevent evictions and reduce long-term social costs.

Commenters urged that any program include full legal representation for tenants rather than only mediation. Burgo argued that a mediation program “would do nothing to prevent the bad faith abuses of power that I and far too many other tenants have experienced,” and he asked the commission to codify an ordinance guaranteeing legal representation for tenants facing eviction.

Speakers at the meeting referenced prior direction from the commission for staff to explore a right-to-counsel program; public commenters asked the commission to move from study to funding and ordinance approaches. The meeting record on June 3 contained no final vote on funding for a right-to-counsel program; public comment added urgency to the commission’s ongoing work on housing and eviction-prevention measures.

Why it matters: Tenants and housing advocates say guaranteed counsel would help prevent evictions that can lead to homelessness and greater public costs. Residents described landlord practices they called abusive and asked the commission both to fund the program and to pursue an ordinance to guarantee representation for tenants in eviction court.