Tenant Legal Services in the Nine-County Bay Area5
The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) commissioned the Bay
Area Eviction Study to better understand the current eviction landscape
across the region as part of its mandate to advance affordable housing
across production, preservation and protections (the “3 Ps”). The research
team collected and studied data from county Superior Courts, sheriff’s
offices, local agencies (as available by jurisdiction), the California Judicial
Council and legal service organizations. Tenant legal services organizations
provided in-depth data through a survey, and other tenant-serving
organizations provided information through interviews from across the
region. The findings are organized into multiple regional and local reports
and an interactive data tool that are available on the BAHFA website.
As revealed in the companion report Evictions in the Nine-County Bay
Area, the study found that the rates of court evictions have returned to or
surpassed pre-pandemic levels in eight of the nine counties. Such formal
evictions are only part of a broader landscape of housing instability that
encompasses both court proceedings as well as informal evictions.
Given the complexity of housing law and accelerated pace of eviction
proceedings in California, both tenants and landlords can benefit from
legal representation to navigate the legal eviction process. Nationally,
approximately 4% of tenants and 83% of landlords are represented in
eviction cases. Available regional data indicate that Bay Area tenants
have significantly lower representation rates than landlords as well.
Understanding the ecosystem of tenant legal services, and where more
support is needed, is one component of advancing strategies and programs
to help prevent displacement in the Bay Area.