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Legal Aid organizer urges board to review eviction practices; eviction-diversion session set for Feb. 13
Summary
Emily Dreyfus of the Legal Aid Justice Center told the CRHA board that housing-authority cases had advanced despite small balances, calling a recent $70 unresolved balance an example of "very aggressive litigation." Staff committed to follow up and the board scheduled an eviction-diversion presentation at the Feb. 13 work session.
Emily Dreyfus, senior community organizer with the Legal Aid Justice Center, told the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority board on Jan. 27 that eviction dockets showed fewer names overall but cited a housing-authority case that remained active despite a $70 balance, calling the practice "very aggressive litigation." Dreyfus said that filing or maintaining a case in that circumstance risks future three-day notices and undermines the authority’s stated goal of treating eviction as a last resort.
Deputy Executive Director Kathleen Glenn Matthews and other staff agreed to provide additional information to the board. Commissioners asked staff to investigate whether extenuating circumstances justified the case’s continued status; staff (Sales) said they would follow up and present an update at the next meeting or the Feb. 13 work session. The board scheduled staff to present the eviction-diversion referral form and associated training at the Feb. 6 staff training and the Feb. 13 work session.
Why it matters: Commissioners and resident advocates framed evictions as a central housing stability issue for CRHA tenants. The outcome of staff follow-up and the eviction-diversion program could affect residents’ ability to avoid court filings and short-notice removals.
What the board said it will do next: staff will investigate the specific case Dreyfus raised and report back at the Feb. 13 work session; the eviction-diversion program and a referral form will be presented to commissioners and staff in early February.
