Evictions, Right to Counsel, and Administrative Burden

• In Event: Testing the Boundaries of Administrative Burden

Abstract

As housing has become increasingly unaffordable for US renters, millions of tenant households face the threat of eviction each year. In most eviction cases, an unrepresented tenant must defend themselves against a landlord with professional legal representation. In response to calls from housing advocates and legal scholars, 25 jurisdictions have created right to counsel programs that provide legal assistance to tenants facing an eviction. A growing body of research has documented the many benefits of legal aid for tenants facing eviction, but this research has omitted the perspectives of tenants who are unable to access legal counsel when it is hypothetically available.

This paper reports the findings of a mixed method study of the nation’s first statewide right to counsel program in Washington State. I draw on the theoretical framework of administrative burden in order to identify the barriers that evicted tenants face in their pursuit of legal aid. Using a sequential exploratory research design, this paper details the sources of administrative burden facing tenants during the eviction process and analyzes the results of a targeted behavioral nudge intended to increase take-up of Washington’s right to counsel program.

I present analysis of qualitative data from interviews with tenants who were unable to access legal assistance. This analysis shows that eviction proceedings exact learning, compliance, and psychological costs on prospective participants and that tenants frequently endure traumatic experiences in the weeks and months surrounding their eviction. These experiences strain tenants’ cognitive resources during the eviction process. In alignment with prior research from cognitive psychology and public administration, study findings suggest that these experiences impede tenants’ ability to overcome the administrative burdens of the eviction process.

I then present descriptive analysis of quantitative data from 970 unlawful detainer proceedings in Washington in January 2024 and identify predictors of tenants’ legal representation. Analysis of case documents reveals that less than half of all tenants receive legal counsel despite the program's broad eligibility criteria, and that tenants’ submission of a written response to the eviction summons is a strong predictor of access to legal representation.

Finally, I present the results of a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) of an informational intervention intended to reduce the learning costs of the right to counsel and the psychological costs of eviction. The RCT, which began in January 2025, tests the effectiveness of a targeted mailer designed by a local legal aid provider that directs tenants to attend their upcoming hearing and features a de-stigmatizing message. Preliminary results from this RCT show that the mailer significantly reduced default judgments against tenants, suggesting that landlords may have changed their behavior and pursued less aggressive legal strategies in some cases. The treatment also appears to have increased right to counsel program take-up, although to a lesser extent. Although the limited scope of the RCT only allows for intent-to-treat analysis, qualitative data from interviews with treatment and control group participants enables examination of the mechanisms that could explain the changes in tenant and landlord behavior.

Author

• Will von Geldern, University of Washington
  Presenting Author