CLEVELAND — A Cleveland City Council committee has approved $1.25 million to keep the city’s right-to-counsel program running, giving more tenants facing eviction access to a free attorney.
The committee on Oct. 12 approved ordinance 1031-2026, which authorizes the city’s directors of community development and finance to contract with the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cleveland. Under the agreement, Legal Aid lawyers will represent covered residents in eviction proceedings, a service supporters say can mean the difference between a family keeping its home and being forced out.
Presenters told council members the program has already been involved in 5,370 eviction cases. That track record was a central part of the case for continuing the funding, as eviction filings remain a heavy burden on Cleveland’s courts and on renters in neighborhoods across the city.
Council members did not simply write the check, however. Before moving the measure forward, they asked Legal Aid and city officials to provide case disposition data and details on intake eligibility, so the city can measure what outcomes the program is producing and who is being served.
The funding measure now continues through the council process. Housing advocates say tracking results will matter as much as the dollars themselves, because the data will shape whether the eviction defense program grows, changes or faces tougher questions in the next budget cycle.