This primer reviews what right to counsel laws are, how they advance racial and health justice, and ways public health practitioners can support right to counsel efforts.

A safe and stable home is the foundation for a healthy life, yet this cornerstone of good health remains out of reach for many. New local and state laws that guarantee a right to counsel for tenants facing eviction (“RTC” or “right to counsel”) offer a promising opportunity to address this challenge and related racial and health disparities.

This primer starts by reviewing what right to counsel laws are and how they can advance racial and health justice. In short, establishing a right to counsel can help more households remain stably housed — particularly low-income households and those disproportionately impacted by historical and ongoing discriminatory policies and practices.

It follows with steps public health practitioners can take to enhance the potential of right to counsel efforts to advance racial and health justice, including:

• Support policy development
• Make the public health case for right to counsel as a health issue
• Support community leadership
• Establish cross-sector partnerships to address challenges related to housing stability, housing quality, and health
• Strengthen community outreach and referral networks
• Train stakeholders on the connections between housing, health, and equity

This resource was developed by ChangeLab Solutions, Human Impact Partners, the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel, PolicyLink, and Results for America,  in partnership with the American Public Health Association and the de Beaumont Foundation as part of the Healing Through Policy initiative. 

Grounding Justice: Toward Reparative Spatial Futures in Land and Housing serves as an anchoring document for our work in reparative spatial justice. It is both a call to action and an open invitation for collaboration and discussion that embraces the conversations, tensions, and collective growth that this path demands. 

In this inaugural publication, we highlight the critical need for a reparative spatial justice framework in land and housing policy. The paper uplifts key concepts, research findings, and perspectives from the field shedding light on the multifaceted nature of reparative spatial justice.  Drawing from a comprehensive literature review compiled by the PolicyLink housing team and the empirical insights of qualitative research conducted by Social Insights, this paper also synthesizes conversations with advocates, frontline workers, and thought leaders in the fields of spatial justice, reparations, housing justice, and land justice. The fusion of these insights frames a set of evidence-based recommendations, charting a course for practitioners, researchers, policymakers, organizers, and advocates dedicated to this transformative work.

• Read the Executive Summary (English)
• Read the Executive Summary (Spanish)
• Read the Full Publication (English)

We invite stakeholders, policymakers, organizers, and concerned community members to engage with the findings and practical recommendations outlined in this report, Advancing Pennsylvania’s Housing Futures: Sealing Eviction Records for Housing Stability and Economic Prosperity, in the collective endeavor to unlock the potential for housing stability and economic prosperity in Pennsylvania. This report illuminates the detrimental impacts eviction records have on individuals and communities. Additionally, Advancing Pennsylvania’s Housing Futures:

• Reviews Pennsylvania's proactive eviction-prevention strategies used during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic (2020 to 2021). 
• Examines federal regulatory and state legislative actions that have influenced the national dialogue on tenant screening.
• Proposes actionable policy recommendations for Pennsylvania's legislators. 

The trends outlined in this report are not unique to Pennsylvania and echo troubling national patterns. Pennsylvania stands at a critical juncture. By building on policy advancements implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic and by leveraging the existing framework of the Clean Slate legislation, lawmakers can take decisive steps to seal eviction records and offer a lifeline to hundreds of thousands who grapple with the barriers to obtaining stable, affordable, and safe housing. 

More Information

To learn more about policies on eviction records and tenant screening, please review the following resources from PolicyLink and partners: 

• Anti-Displacement Toolkit: Sealing Eviction Records and Tenant Screening Regulations - PolicyLink
• Mapping the Growth of Eviction Record and Tenant Screening Protections - PolicyLink
• Digital Denials: How Abuse, Bias, and Lack of Transparency in Tenant Screening Harm Renters - National Consumer Law Center
• Salt in the Wound: How Eviction Records and Back Rent Haunt Tenant Screening Reports and Credit Scores - National Consumer Law Center
• How to Seal Eviction Records - Upturn

Have questions or want to discuss eviction record sealing policies in your state or city? Reach out to housing-team@policylink.org

This memo offers equity standards and policy interventions that support active anti-displacement strategies as a critical pillar of both equitable housing policy and place-based development. These standards and policy interventions account for existing market pressures currently exacerbating gentrification and displacement, and offer opportunities to leverage federal and local policy interventions to not only prevent and mitigate these pressures but also proactively stabilize and build housing opportunities for people who are most marginalized in the housing market and most at risk of displacement. These standards and policy priorities have been built to acknowledge the unique legal pressures facing government-led equity efforts and to present proactive and principled ways in which public expenditures can and should seek to remedy past harms and advance spatial equity.