Housing Advocacy Shortfall Reported

A committee of bar associations and foundations led by the Lawyers Trust Fund last month released a long-awaited study on the unmet legal needs of low-income families in Illinois. The study, entitled “The Legal Aid Safety Net: A Report on the Legal Needs of Low-Income Illinoisans,” covers a variety of topics including consumer rights, public benefits, family law, health, employment, education, disability, immigration, and housing. It documents particular problems faced by low-income households in each topic and recommends improving access to legal services more generally.

Based on a telephone survey of a cross-section of 1,645 low-income respondents throughout the state, the study concludes that housing problems make up 17.8 percent of the total legal problems faced by low-income households. Of the families who reported problems regarding their rental housing, low-income renters in particular reported serious housing conditions (34.4 percent), difficulty in collecting their security deposits (18.7 percent), defending against evictions (14 percent), and discrimination, including against families with housing choice vouchers (8.5 percent), among other issues.

Low-income homeowners reported serious problems as well. Of those who reported housing problems, 41 percent reported difficulty refinancing, including predatory lending. Twenty-one percent reported home repair issues. Just over 16 percent had problems with property taxes, and 10 percent faced difficulties related to foreclosure.

Just over 44 percent of those families who sought legal assistance for their housing problems were turned away. Equally troubling, the study found that low-income families more often attempted to fix problems on their own, rather than seeking legal assistance in the first place. Families with housing problems sought attorneys in less than 20 percent of their cases, eschewing legal assistance even when facing the devastating effects of eviction (83.3 percent of respondents sought no assistance) or serious conditions (76.7 percent). In all, the study found that in nearly 90 percent of cases, low-income families with housing problems received no legal help.

In order to address this gap in housing advocacy—and similar gaps in other issue areas—the study recommends helping meet the unmet legal need in Illinois. First, it suggests that access to a full range of legal aid options be improved, including by increasing awareness of legal protection provisions and legal options, and by improving access to information. Second, it recommends an increase in the resources available to support legal aid and access-to-justice initiatives in Illinois. Third, it seeks to strengthen the existing legal aid system, both by recruiting and retaining more legal aid lawyers and by improving the infrastructure supporting them. Fourth, it suggests that legal aid providers reassess their case priorities and that they collaborate with private nonprofit organizations to fill gaps in advocacy through strategies unavailable to legal aid organizations (such as filing class-action lawsuits to make a broader impact).

The study makes recommendations to the private bar as well. It encourages pro bono participation by private attorneys in legal aid activities; it reminds private attorneys to volunteer their time and instructs legal aid providers to foster appropriate pro bono opportunities. It also instructs the Illinois Coalition for Equal Justice to coordinate the implementation of these recommendations, with collaboration, support, and staffing from bar associations and foundations.

The study provides a wealth of information for those interested in the unmet legal needs of the community. The complete study can be found at www.ltf.org/legalneeds.htm.

For more information, contact Raj Nayak at 312.263.3830 ext. 243.