from Akron Beacon Journal: A program keeping Cleveland tenants in their homes is coming to Akron. How does it work?

A program keeping Cleveland tenants in their homes is coming to Akron. How does it work?

From Akron Beacon Journal – September 4, 2025

By Stephanie Warsmith

When a Cleveland woman got an eviction notice last August, she knew what to do.

She contacted the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland and got an attorney.

Her landlord was accusing her of firing a weapon in her apartment building.

Nicole Riggins, her attorney, negotiated with the landlord and was able to show the woman was in the hospital being treated for a blood clot when shots were fired, so she couldn’t have been responsible.

The eviction was dismissed and the woman got to stay in her apartment.

“She was very knowledgeable,” the woman, who is 46 and asked that her name not be used for fear of angering her landlord, said of Riggins. “She worked with me through the process. She helped me not get put out. I didn’t do anything wrong. I was in the hospital – fighting for my life.”

The woman was among more than 1,000 tenants facing eviction in Cleveland last year who were provided with an attorney for free through the city’s right-to-counsel program. The program is open to people with annual income at or below the federal poverty level ‒ currently $21,150 for a family of two, $26,650 for a family of three and $32,150 for a family of four. Participants also must have at least one minor child living with them.

Columbus and Toledo also have right-to-counsel programs but Cleveland’s, which launched in July 2020, is the longest running in the state. Dayton recently started a pilot right-to-counsel program and Akron will begin a pilot program on Sept. 15.

If Akron’s pilot is successful, the city might adopt a permanent program with the funding to support it.

The Beacon Journal recently visited Cleveland’s right-to-counsel program to better understand how the program works and how it could help tenants in Akron facing the loss of their homes.

Facing an eviction in Akron? Here are resources that can help

Ryan Harrell, one of the 12 attorneys and four paralegals in Cleveland’s housing group, said the goal for every eviction case is to reach a resolution that works for both sides and prevents a tenant from being forcibly removed, with their belongings thrown on the curb.

“Our work here is damage mitigation,” he said. “That’s the result we want to avoid if at all possible.”

'This isn't straightforward,' tenant attorney says of most eviction cases

Cleveland’s right-to-counsel program was started during the COVID-19 pandemic when most court business was done virtually ‒ and has remained on Zoom.

Barbara Reitzloff, the supervising attorney for Cleveland’s program, said virtual hearings are easier for tenants because they don’t have to grapple with parking and transportation. Tenants can either log onto the Zoom session or go to the Justice Center where there’s a computer available.

Eviction cases are heard five days a week, with some days busier than others. Cleveland had about 6,500 eviction cases filed last year.

During a recent session, Magistrate Tamara Womack asked a tenant if she had any minor children. The woman said she had two, ages 7 and 13.

“The city has an ordinance for possible evictions in which you could have an attorney at no cost,” Womack said. “Would you like to talk to them?”

The woman said she would, and Womack put her into a breakout session with a paralegal so she could be screened for eligibility.

Reitzloff said information is provided to tenants about right to counsel with the court documents they receive but some don’t realize what it means or don’t have the chance to reach out before their first hearing. The magistrate will then ask them if they’re interested in having an attorney.

“We’re lucky the court is allowing us to have screenings in court,” she said. “It’s easier to do up front.”

Clients who are found to be eligible are asked to call Legal Aid that day to discuss the case with their attorney. The attorneys each generally handle 15 to 17 cases a week.

Nicole Cratty, who has been a right-to-counsel attorney for four years, said she interviews her clients, reviews documents and looks for possible deficiencies, such as an eviction notice that wasn’t filed in the required time or that’s missing information. She files motions and, in more complicated cases, requests a bench trial.

Cratty said attorneys for landlords often say, “This is a very straightforward case,” but then she gets the documents and realizes “this isn’t straightforward at all.” She said she’s able to reach an agreement with the landlord’s attorney most of the time.

“For most people, it is a big difference having an advocate there,” Cratty said. “They want to know the details. They want to be heard.”

Cratty said she pushes for what her client wants, whether that’s avoiding an eviction or a judgment on their record, getting the case dismissed or allowing more time to find a new place to live.

Landlords view evictions as ‘last resort,’ landlord attorney says

Jim Petropouleas, a Strongsville attorney who represents landlords, said his clients view eviction as a “last resort.”

“Most owners do not want to evict,” he said. “They would rather see a paying tenant. They would rather keep their tenants. At times, it comes to the point where the rent has gotten too far delinquent or other issues arise and they have to move to eviction.”

Petropouleas practices in numerous courts in Northeast Ohio, as far south as Canton and as far north as Elyria. Cleveland is the only court where he practices that has a right-to-counsel program.

Petropouleas said tenants having attorneys can better understand the process.

“The tenants many times don’t know the law and don’t know what they’re up against,” he said. “There are only certain elements we have to prove – that they are delinquent in their rent and there have been proper services.”

In a recent Zoom session in Cleveland, Petropouleas handled two cases, one that was resolved and another that was not.

In the case that was resolved, he and David King, a right-to-counsel attorney, negotiated an agreement in which the tenant would pay the landlord $975 in August and September and could remain in the apartment until the end of September.

In the other case, King tried to negotiate a payment plan, but the landlord wasn’t open to this. The case went to trial and resulted in a finding for the landlord and an order that the tenant leave the property by Aug. 12.

“That’s overwhelmingly not the case,” Petropouleas said. “There’s typically some type of resolution, even if it’s some amount of time.”

King agreed that – most of the time – having an attorney helps tenants to achieve better results than they would have without one.

"These can lead to far better results for them, helping families avoid tremendous trauma and stress that would otherwise come upon them in a system that is meant to move very quickly," he said.

All tenants should have attorneys, leader of national group says

John Pollock, who heads the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel that advocates for attorneys in evictions and other civil cases, said housing is a critical human need.

He said the loss of housing can lead to homelessness, incarceration, mental health issues, job loss, and children ending up in foster care.

“It’s almost like everything comes at stake once you lose your housing,” he said.

Pollock said landlords have attorneys in 83% of eviction cases, compared to only 4% of tenants.

“When tenants don’t have attorneys, landlords always win,” he said. “It’s just the way it happens. Studies have shown when they get counsel, the results change.”

Pollock said tenants should have attorneys in all eviction cases.

“There can be confusion about, if a tenant did not pay rent, why do they need a lawyer?” he said. “Not every non-payment case is legitimate. A landlord may have overcharged. A landlord may not have followed the right procedure. It goes on and on.”

Pollock said several right-to-counsel initiatives started out as pilots and then transitioned into permanent programs. He said the most important step for a pilot is gathering data showing the benefits.

Emily Cala, an attorney with Legal Aid of East Tennessee that has a newer right to counsel program, agreed that gathering data is important. She said a study by the University of Tennessee found that for every dollar spent on right to counsel, there was a $6 savings on other costs, such as avoiding homelessness. She said the program also has a 91% success rate in meeting clients’ goals.

“Data is persuading people,” said Cala, who recently visited Cleveland’s right-to-counsel program. “You get a lot of pushback. When things click for people, that’s when all the work is worth it.”

Cleveland’s right-to-counsel program shows positive results

Cleveland’s right-to-counsel program has shown positive results.

Stout, an independent evaluation firm that’s been used to gauge the results of several right-to-counsel programs, found that Cleveland’s program:

• Assisted 3,034 residents in 1,051 eviction cases in 2024.
• Helped 80% of the tenants to achieve their goal. The goals include preventing an eviction or involuntary move, securing 30 or more days to move, and getting rental assistance.
• Boosted the percentage of tenants represented by attorneys from 2% to 3% to about 16%.

Stout also estimates that Cleveland and Cuyahoga County likely realized economic benefits of about $35.1 million since right to counsel started. These benefits include less homelessness, foster care and reliance on public assistance.

When Cleveland’s program started, United Way was the administrator, but the city is now providing funding directly to Legal Aid. The city provided $750,000 to the program this year, which was the same as last year.

Matt Vincel, the managing attorney for Cleveland’s Legal Aid, said the program represents everyone who qualifies. He said the agency, though, has contract attorneys who assist when Legal Aid attorneys have a conflict or are overloaded with cases.

Vincel said he’d like to see right to counsel expanded to more tenants in Cleveland and more courts in Northeast Ohio.

“There are lots of other impoverished people we’d like to be able to help,” he said.

Examples of Cleveland tenants who have been helped by the right-to-counsel program

Cratty said she recently represented a refugee from Central Africa who was injured on the job and fell behind in her rent.

She was able to negotiate for more time for her client to move out so she could find a new place to live.

The landlord also agreed not to pursue damages against the tenant.

“There’s certain people who stand out in my mind,” Cratty said. “I was really glad I was able to be there.”

Savannah Gordon, another right-to-counsel attorney, recalled a recent case in which she determined her client hadn’t been served eviction notices in the correct order. The eviction was dismissed, though it was then refiled with the notices given in the proper order.

Still, the dismissal bought her client an extra month before she had to move.

“We try to look for any way possible to buy them more time,” Gordon said.

Harrell said tenants sometimes have tough choices, like whether to pay for car repairs or rent. If they ignore the car repairs, they might lose their job. So, they pay for the car repairs, knowing they may lose their housing.

“I have yet to represent any client who said, ‘I should not have to pay rent,’” he said. “Everyone is trying their best with what they have.”

The 46-year-old Cleveland woman who recently had her eviction case dismissed also faced an eviction 10 years ago, that time for getting behind on her rent.

She reached out to Legal Aid, which didn’t have a right-to-counsel program at the time but was providing attorneys for eviction cases as often as it could. The attorney negotiated an agreement that allowed her to get current on her rent and remain in her home.

Based on her two experiences, the woman would recommend that others facing an eviction get an attorney if they can.

“I believe having an attorney helps,” she said. “They have the knowledge, and they know the rules. And, sometimes, we don’t know it.”

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3705.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: A program keeping Cleveland tenants in their homes is coming to Akron. How does it work?