Got an eviction case? Housing Court Help Desk is there
“I want to do an appeal.” “I can’t take any of the back rent.”
“You don’t have heat? So it’s going to be an emergency motion.”
“The eviction was set for today? Are you sure they didn’t lock the doors this morning?”
Welcome to the Housing Court Help Desk, an effort by court administrators to assist tenants and landlords with housing cases in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.
On a recent weekday, there’s a steady stream of needs and questions from phone calls and from people walking up to the counter in the Department of Court Records.
Many of those visiting the help desk have had a landlord-tenant case heard by a district judge, often resulting in a monetary judgment against the tenant and an order for possession for the landlord — meaning the tenant can be evicted unless they file an appeal. Many are there to do just that, but they aren’t represented by an attorney and have no idea what forms they are supposed to fill out, what rights they have or how the legal system works.
In 2019, more than 13,000 residential landlord-tenant cases were filed in Allegheny County, according to court data compiled by the Department of Human Services, though not all cases resulted in evictions.
The help desk started last year
but beefed up its staffing recently thanks to a grant from The Pittsburgh Foundation.
“It is pioneering for Pittsburgh, and I give Judge [Christine] Ward credit for trying to tackle this and do something,” said Jane Downing, a Pittsburgh Foundation senior program officer who has been studying evictions locally.
The staff at the help desk cannot give legal advice, though they can explain procedural steps and things like what forms to fill out. They also can refer hard-up tenants to resources for emergency rental assistance.
“I just try to really talk to the person,” said help desk manager Shawnell Smith.
In a 2018 examination of evictions, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette found many cases locally at the district judge level are decided swiftly, often without the tenant present. Many cases are brought to court over a small amount of money.
Staff members at the help desk emphasize, however, that they are there to serve both landlords and tenants.
“We really do try to give equal access to both sides,” said Candice Malizio, a cashier at the desk.
The desk is in a back corner in the Department of Court Records in the City-County Building in Downtown. People step to the counter amid the sounds of ringing phones, the clunk of court papers being time-stamped and the chatter of dozens of voices. A dog-eared paperback copy of “Evicted,” Matthew Desmond’s landmark book on evictions, sits on top of a cabinet.
The help desk came about after a task force convened by Judge Ward, in light of the high number of eviction cases. Other changes included having a dedicated housing court judge, Alan Hertzberg; allowing arbitration cases to opt for mediation if both parties agree; and having more information given to tenants when the initial case is filed against them at the magistrate level.
“We’ve all been involved together to try to make this work, to try to keep people not on the streets and still follow the law,” said District Judge Richard King, who hears hundreds of landlord-tenant cases a year from South Pittsburgh neighborhoods like Carrick, Overbrook, Allentown and Beltzhoover.
“A lot of landlords are kind of mom and pop-type landlords; they’re not all the big companies. So they’re not familiar either [with the rules],” said Judge King, president of the Allegheny County Special Court Judge Association.
Before the help desk was instituted, there was no designated staff in the Department of Court Records to assist people with paperwork for housing cases. The goal is to have social work students assisting later this year, and eventually, more space for private conversations for staff assisting those seeking help, Judge Ward said.
The effort aims to improve “access to justice,” she said.
The help desk staff is “awesome,” said Celeste Scott, a housing organizer with Pittsburgh UNITED. “They have really been doing what they said they were going to do.”
Ms. Scott, who was evicted from her housing a number of years ago, said the help offered is crucial.
“I feel like I wouldn’t have been displaced and evicted had I known what to do,” she said.
To contact the Housing Court Help Desk, call 412-350-4462.