MADISON, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin Law School is launching an Evictions Defense Clinic for law students to provide legal resources to people struggling with housing instability.
The clinic, staffed by a supervising attorney and seven law school students, is an expansion of the Neighborhood Law Clinic and joins five other clinical programs run by UW’s Economic Justice Institute.
“Housing instability impacts all of us,” EJI director, attorney Mitch, said. “You’re impacted by whether or not your coworkers are convicted, whether or not your school-aged children’s friends are evicted from their homes. So rental housing impacts all of us, and the number of people who are at risk of eviction because of the end of the CDC moratorium is going way, way up.”
On August 26, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned President Biden’s extension of the nationwide moratorium on evictions, put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The court ruled that the CDC had exceeded their authority, and that a ban on evictions needed Congressional approval. The House of Representatives hasn’t gotten enough support yet for an extension.
In Wisconsin, court eviction filings rose in June and July to more than 1,400 each month after being in decline the first part of the year, according to the Wisconsin Eviction Data Project.
Since August 26, court filings have been markedly on the rise, according to the Department of Administration’s Mike Basford, but the data hasn’t been updated yet because not all circuit courts around Wisconsin have updated their online eviction numbers. It remains to be seen if eviction judgments rise along with that, as cases typically take a few weeks to conclude.
Experts fear that as the grace period for paying September’s rent closes this week, a spike in filings will follow.
“With the pandemic, the increase in housing instability has shot up,” Mitch noted.
The evictions defense clinic is funded by $1 million that the Madison City Council redirected for eviction legal expenses from $16 million in federal emergency rental assistance.
“Erica Lopez, an incredible legal advocate who has worked with Legal Action of Wisconsin for years, will serve as the clinical instructor and supervisor of the Eviction Defense Clinic,” said Mitch in a press release. “Together, with our dedicated clinical law students, we look forward to the work ahead to provide legal assistance in these challenging times.”
Wisconsin Resource Links for Tenants:
Landlord and Tenant Q & A: Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Wisconsin Eviction Data Project
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