1 MEMORANDUM
DATE: June 4, 2024
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Joseph H. McDougall, City Attorney
SUBJECT: Second Supplemental Memo to Budget Discussion Paper – Low-Income Legal Services Pilot Program
INTRODUCTION
This is a second supplement to the City Attorney’s Housing Enforcement Budget Discussion Paper with additional detail describing the Low-Income Legal Services Pilot Program based on Council’s feedback at the May 21 meeting.
DISCUSSION
The May 7, 2024, discussion paper and supplemental memo requested $100,000 1 one- time funding to support a Low -Income Legal Services Pilot Program. At the May 21 meeting, City Council responded to the ideas presented, provided direction, and requested additional detail for their designated priorities.
1. Fixed-fee private legal mediation panel for qualifying landlords and tenants.
The City Attorney’s Office will issue a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for licensed California attorneys to be placed on a panel of practitioners available to provide half -day mediations, inclusive of review time, for landlord-tenant disputes for $1,000 each. Staff will receive the dispute, investigate the matter, and refer to a rotating panel of qualified attorneys for half-day mediation. Based on response to the RFQ, the City would retain three to five qualified attorneys. Resident tenants or landlords would be invited to participate in the service at no cost to them, and at low cost to the City. Though mediation will be voluntary for both parties and decisions will be non- binding, the no-cost opportunity could be an effective method of dispute resolution. Wh ere there is no pending court matter, mediation could be a prerequisite to qualifying for a $5,000 legal services grant.
1 The initial recommendation to use the Housing Rights Center (HRC) landlord and tenant workshops on housing rules and regulations, and fair housing rights and responsibilities, with weekly or monthly “clinics” to expand services to the community was given low priority by Council. But remains an available future option.
CITY ATTORNEY’S
OFFICE
2 2. Grant program to reimburse qualifying low -income tenants or landlords for legal representation in at-fault eviction proceedings.
Intake staff would provide qualifying low-income tenants or landlords grants of up to $5,000 for access to legal representation in unlawful detainer actions, or in defense of related harassing civil litigation. Based on the individual dispute, a free half-day mediation may be a pre-requisite to funding opportunities.
3. Provide community mediation training to the Landlord Tenant Commission to hold no-cost mediation for landlord- tenant disputes that are outside the scope of the Housing Enforcement Program.
Some disputes between landlords and tenants that are not suitable for either legal mediation, or legal representation grants may remain. For such concerns, the Landlord Tenant Commissioners could be trained as community mediators by an organization that provides community mediation trainings. The University of California at Davis 2 provides a
40-hour online program for $650. The National Conflict Resolution Center3 provides many different types of training services for mediators, with a signature workshop that costs $1,750. For five Landlord- Tenant Commissioners to be trained in a community-based mediation program would cost less than $10,000.
Staff will provide updates to Council as the details of the pilot program and plans progress.
FISCAL IMPACT
Staff is currently requesting $100,000 in one- time funding for the Low -Income Legal Services Pilot Program , which could increase as the program develops. $25,000 would provide 25 half-day mediations, $65,000 would allow for legal representation where there are at-fault tenants being evicted, or either party is being legally harassed, and $10,000 would remain to train a panel of Landlord Tenant Commissioners to mediate any remaining disputes.
CONCLUSION
Note and file.
2 https://cpe.ucdavis.edu/section/40-hour-mediation-1
3 https://ncrconline.com/mediation-conflict-resolution/training-services/available-workshops/theory-and-practice- mediation/