Sen. Carney introduces bill to help tenants facing eviction
AUGUSTA — On Tuesday, Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth, introduced a bill to ensure tenants have access to legal representation in eviction cases. LD 1508, “An Act To Prevent Homelessness by Establishing an Eviction Mediation Program,” was the subject of a public hearing before the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee.
“The eviction process is often highly traumatic, especially for low-income people and families, as well as lengthy and complicated for landlords. In the middle of a housing crisis and pandemic, we must do better for low-income and working-class Mainers,” said Sen. Carney. “LD 1508 creates an eviction mediation program that allows early intervention in the eviction process. It provides information and access to rental assistance programs that benefit landlords and tenants, which in turn helps parties resolve disputes without resort to an eviction judgment.”
The Maine Affordable Housing Coalition, in 2020, created an eviction tracking database and report. LD 1508 addresses one of the key findings of the report: “Tenants continue to lag far behind landlords in legal representation, and case outcomes continue to strongly correlate with this imbalance.” Landlords had legal representation in 80% of the evictions in the study; tenants had legal representation in only 20%. Unrepresented tenants were subject to eviction judgments in 73% of the cases. When tenants had legal advice, case outcomes split evenly.
LD 1508 would establish an eviction mediation program to provide mediation services to the parties in forcible entry and detainer actions. The court may order and either party may request mediation, which is then mandatory for the parties. The program also provides information on rental, housing and legal counseling and assistance to tenants. Mediation is waived and a case moves to an immediate hearing if required to prevent irreparable damage to the dwelling or serious physical harm to a person.
Greg Payne, director of the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition, testified in favor of LD 1508, saying the bill is “among the most potentially impactful housing proposals in this legislative session.” Payne added that, “LD 1508 is a reasonable and thoughtful proposal that we believe would reduce evictions in Maine, thereby helping many Maine renters to avoid such harms, without unduly burdening landlords.”
“The short and long-term effects of homelessness on adults and children are well documented,” said Nan Heald, Executive Director of Pine Tree Legal Assistance, in testimony supporting the bill. “As a result, advocacy to protect the rights of low-income families to housing has been a priority for Pine Tree since our doors first opened in 1967. We have never had sufficient staff to accept every case for an eligible client household, but Pine Tree Legal Assistance staff were involved in 1,718 eviction proceedings statewide in the year ending June 2019. That high number represented less than a third of the eviction proceedings filed in all of Maine’s courts.”
“Mainers’ health, wellbeing, and economic stability all start at home, and there is no worse threat to a family’s stability than eviction — or the forcible removal from that home,” said Frank D’Alessandro, of Maine Equal Justice, in testimony supporting the bill. “Eviction is not just a condition of poverty, but a cause of it, as it forces families out of their communities away from their support systems, makes children change schools, negatively affects mental health, and causes job loss. These costs can be disastrous to low-income families, and they are also extremely costly to society. LD 1508 will help prevent eviction and ensure stability for Mainers.”
LD 1508 faces further action in committee.
