Legal advocates press for statewide access to counsel and a tenant protection office
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Summary
Legal services, bar associations and housing advocates urged the committee to create statutory access‑to‑counsel for eviction proceedings and to establish an Office of Tenant Protections to enforce habitability and tenant rights statewide.
A bipartisan set of witnesses, including legal services providers, the Boston Bar Association and national child‑health researchers, detailed how access to counsel in eviction cases preserves housing stability, protects children’s health, and saves public dollars.
Speakers described pilot results showing representation prevents many evictions, cited studies estimating net savings to the state if representation becomes available statewide, and asked the committee to codify a permanent statewide access‑to‑counsel program with designated providers, notice requirements and funding mechanisms. The proposals would provide full legal representation to low‑income tenants (and low‑income owner‑occupants in some versions) in eviction proceedings.
Separately, tenant advocates and community organizers argued for creation of a statewide Office of Tenant Protections or Office of Tenant Protections that would create a landlord registry, require regular rental inspections, enforce sanitary code obligations where local departments are underfunded, and provide ‘‘know your rights’’ resources.
Speakers urged statutory clarity on eligibility thresholds, notice procedures, and how funding would be phased; representatives of legal aid groups outlined current service gaps and estimated large portions of demand remain unmet without statutory change.
The committee received numerous case examples demonstrating the difference full counsel can make in outcomes and asked staff about governance, funding, and implementation timelines.
