Advocates ask $750,000 to expand statewide eviction mediation; program cites strong cost‑benefit
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Summary
Utah Community Action requested $750,000 annually to sustain an evidence‑based statewide eviction mediation program that has mediated 3,100 cases with an 85% resolution rate; presenters said the program reduces court backlog and produces large downstream savings in homelessness prevention.
Representatives from Utah Community Action presented the statewide eviction mediation program to the committee and requested $750,000 in annual funding to sustain and expand services.
Sahil Oberoi (Utah Community Action) explained that eviction is a leading path to homelessness and that mediation is an upstream, cost‑effective intervention. He said the program has mediated more than 3,100 cases over five years with about 85% resolving to mutual agreements that keep families housed and protect landlords’ interests. The program operates three core components: direct landlord‑tenant mediation, eviction‑calendar mediation with courts (noting 90% of clients who appear in court want mediation), and statewide eviction‑prevention workshops via Zoom (more than 4,000 participants in five years).
Attorney Nick Lloyd described the courtroom impact: where mediation is available, tenants who participate are roughly twice as likely to catch up on rent and avoid eviction, he said, which reduces demands on the court calendar and lowers downstream public costs. Oberoi said an independent evaluation estimated roughly $33 in savings for every $1 invested in the program.
The presenters said the program already receives some Salt Lake County funding (about $70,000–$100,000 per grant year) and that the requested state funding would help expand coverage beyond the counties where mediation currently concentrates (about 80% of mediations currently occur in Salt Lake County). Committee members praised the program and asked about county funding; no appropriation was adopted at the hearing.
