Explanation
BACKGROUND: This legislation authorizes the Director of the Department of Development to enter two separate grant agreement with the Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio, LASCO, in a total amount up to $1,475,000.00, of that amount $975,000.00 will be from the general fund and the remaining $500,000.00 will be from the U.S. Department of Treasury Emergency Rental Assistance 2 (ERA2) funds, to enable the Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio to be the Designated Organization as defined in the Columbus City Codes and to make available free full legal representation to unrepresented tenants facing eviction from their homes at Franklin County Municipal Court. This agreement includes an option to modify and renew for one additional year, and authorizes expenditures beginning March 1, 2025, and incurred prior to the execution of the purchase order. Funding will be advanced to the organization on a predetermined schedule. The Emergency Rental Assistance funding will be expended prior to September 30, 2025.
Ordinance No. 2275-2021 authorized the City of Columbus to accept and appropriate up to $90,537,806.23 of Federal Emergency Rental Assistance 2 (ERA2) program funds, as passed by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. Columbus received additional Rental Assistance funding from the U.S. Department of Treasury and continues to have a need to provide services and support at eviction court.
Eviction filings in Columbus and Franklin County are at an historic high, as the region faces an affordable housing crisis. Evictions have negative effects on both families and the Columbus community. Statistics show overwhelmingly that tenants who have representation have a better chance at remaining in their home. However, the vast majority of low-income households facing an eviction cannot afford an attorney to represent them while property owners are almost always represented. This dynamic makes it difficult for tenants to defend themselves and negotia...
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