Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
Douglas County staff want to award Kansas Legal Services a contract to run a pilot eviction defense program. Some advocates prefer Kansas Holistic Defenders because the group can represent undocumented people.
Cuyler Dunn/Lawrence Times
Lawrence Tenants, a citywide tenant union, rallied support at a town hall Saturday for a delayed program meant to provide legal representation for people facing eviction.
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
A Lawrence tenant union will host a town hall Saturday to educate and update residents on progress to establish a right to legal representation for people facing eviction in Douglas County.
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
Although Douglas County has expressed commitment to tenant right to counsel and has engaged in implementation discussions for months, a majority of county commissioners Wednesday opted instead to have county staff do more research on mediation.
Nathan Kramer/Lawrence Times
The Douglas County Commission on Wednesday will review staff recommendations to create a limited tenant right to counsel pilot program for 2027, despite an advocacy group’s calls for a program to support all renters facing eviction.
Douglas County commissioners have requested that staff complete more research over the next month or two toward implementing tenant right to counsel, though dozens of advocates called for a vote to launch a program this month.
Nathan Kramer/Lawrence Times
People with housing advocacy organizations urged the Douglas County Commission to schedule a vote and adopt tenant right to counsel next month.
“Last year, at least 222 of our neighbors in Douglas County were evicted from their homes. … A right to counsel program helps all tenants,” Vince Munoz of Lawrence Tenants writes in this letter to the Times.
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
As Douglas County commissioners reviewed eviction prevention methods, presenters identified a need for greater public education on tenant-landlord issues, while representatives from Lawrence Tenants called for tenant right to counsel.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
A recent “Know Your Rights” presentation provided legal resources to tenants in Lawrence, demonstrating that they have recourse to fight evictions in court.
