Douglas County commissioners on Wednesday will review a plan for the Tenant Eviction Defense pilot program they approved in March. If they give the go-ahead, county staff members will solicit proposals from nonprofit legal services to run the program.
On March 25, the commission greenlit a limited TED pilot program using $40,000 that had already been set aside in the 2026 budget to go toward preventing evictions. The pilot is a pared-down version of the tenant right to counsel program that Lawrence Tenants, a citywide tenant union, has been rallying for.
County staff members have drafted a request for proposals for the TED program that commissioners will review Wednesday.
According to the agenda item report for Wednesday’s meeting, the county tentatively plans to run the TED program from June 1 to Dec. 31. Depending on the program’s success, commissioners may choose to fund the program beyond the initial pilot period.
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“The program is designed to assist participants in stabilizing their current housing, preventing homelessness, and promote access to clean, safe, and sanitary dwellings,” the draft RFP reads. “The pilot program will offer legal consultation and representation for eviction defense.”
Assistant County Administrator Jill Jolicoeur, the director of the District Court Self-Help Center, and the selected provider would oversee the program.
Per the agenda item, county staff is proposing that the provider would attend the weekly answer docket, which is when tenants who have received an eviction notice have a chance to deny claims that a landlord has made in a petition.
The provider and project team would work to speak with renters as well as property owners or landlords at the docket. They would hand out paper or online intake forms to tenants to assess their demographic information and “circumstances of eviction to determine whether legal advice or representation is warranted.”
From there, the provider would determine if someone is eligible based on the income and circumstances that they report. Renters may qualify for brief legal advice, full representation or a referral to another service nonprofit.
In addition to providing legal advice or representation to eligible tenants, the county will ask the RFP awardee to track statistics on people who do receive legal representation. The data would include demographic information, eligibility criteria and case outcomes. County staff said the project team would get feedback on the “experiences of participants, including tenants and landlords.”
If commissioners approve the TED plan and RFP on Wednesday, Sarah Plinsky, county administrator, will send out the RFP to start amassing applications. Then, staff would review the applications and recommend a service provider to commissioners for approval.
Read the full proposed program overview and draft RFP at this link.
The commission meeting will start at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 22 in the commission chamber of the historic courthouse at 1100 Massachusetts St.
See the commission’s full agenda at this link, and find info to attend the meeting via Zoom at this link.
Note: This post has been backdated for publication here. It was originally published on a temporary website at the provided publication time while this website was down.
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Wulfe Wulfemeyer (they/them), reporter and news editor, has worked with The Lawrence Times since May 2025. They can be reached at [email protected].
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Resources for renters and tenants
Tenant issues and rights:
• Read about the rights Kansas tenants have and issues that could come up before, during and after tenancy from Kansas Legal Services.
• Find more info and connect with Lawrence Tenants.
Evictions:
• Learn about the eviction process from the Kansas Judicial Branch at this link.
• Check out the self-help page on the Douglas County District Court’s website at dgcoks.gov/district-court/self-help for resources and helpful forms.
• Find the Kansas Judicial Branch’s eviction expungement portal online at this link.
City of Lawrence fair housing help:
• Find information about the city’s fair housing civil rights enforcement procedures and a form to initiate a complaint on the city’s website at lawrenceks.org/attorney/fairhousing, or call 785-832-3310.
Rental assistance:
• Apply for help from the Douglas County Housing Stabilization Collaborative via the county’s website at this link.
• Apply for the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program, LIEAP, at this link during colder months to help cover home energy costs.
• Find more resources to help with rent and utility payments on the Lawrence Public Library’s website.
News coverage:
• See the latest articles from The Lawrence Times on the following topics: homelessness and housing; renter rights; source of income discrimination; affordable housing; tenant right to counsel
