During the last class, we broke up in three groups and
researched different things in relation to eviction court. I was a part of the
Resources Audit, which meant that my group and I were responsible to research
what was available to serve people who were going through the eviction process.
As a group, we first researched what the Notice to Quit included,
in case resources were provided there to help those in the process. As we
learned, the eviction notice did not provide any information and was difficult
to understand because it was written by lawyers, who understand the vernacular.
Our next step was researching eviction resources, both private and public; 10
resources were public and 6 were private. I was surprised at the surplus of
public resources in order to learn more about eviction and didn’t assume that
the resources would be so thorough.
My assumptions and expectations that there would be less
public resources were influenced by the lack of resources provided to the
residents without them researching it for themselves. Not everyone has the
ability to research the internet and aren’t sure of how to look for this
information.
The most helpful piece that my group and I were able to find
came from the City of Boston and was an Eviction Guide to assist in the
understanding of the before, during and after processes of an eviction (or
summary process). The document was published in 2017 and even provides resources
for legal assistance.
In order to further help residents who find themselves in
the eviction process, the city should require that the link for the guide is
provided on the Notice to Quit (the eviction notice). One could even go as far
to say that a landlord is required to provide the guide when delivering a
Notice to Quit however, that is unlikely to happen in all cases and would not
be environmentally friendly. There is no point in having these resources hidden
from those in need of it most and could possibly result in better, faster court
cases because people are able to understand and find the help they need in
these eviction cases.