Douglas County holds work session on eviction prevention, hears limits of current programs

Douglas County commissioners convened a work session focused on eviction prevention and diversion initiatives, hearing from legal service providers, court staff, housing officials and public-health partners about how local programs currently operate and where gaps remain.

Brynn Blair, managing attorney for the Topeka office of Kansas Legal Services, summarized the eviction process for commissioners and staff, saying, “when the landlord serves tenant a written notice, the tenant ... has the chance to resolve the issues within the time frame outlined on that notice.” Blair and other panelists emphasized that when those initial notices are not resolved, the landlord may file an eviction complaint and the court process proceeds from there.

Adelaida Mendoza, eviction resolution coordinator at the district court, described how her office most often encounters tenants at the answer docket, a pivotal moment in the process. “We tend to have the most interaction with tenants when they appear at the answer docket,” Mendoza said, adding that court staff refer tenants to…