Wilmington Council Considers Funding For Tenant Eviction Assistance Program

Wilmington City Council heard from legal aid leaders on Wednesday, who outlined progress made under the law and requested city support for a $786,000 settlement assistance fund to prevent further displacement. (Photo by Allan Vega)

WILMINGTON — As Delaware implements its new right to representation law for tenants facing eviction, Wilmington City Council heard from legal aid leaders on Wednesday, who outlined progress made under the law and requested city support for a $786,000 settlement assistance fund to prevent further displacement.

At the Intergovernmental Committee meeting, Lisa Lessner, Right to Representation Coordinator, DE Legal Aid, and Sarah Rhine, Esq, Community Legal Aid Society (CLASI) Housing Manager, detailed how the law (passed in 2023) has begun to address long-standing disparities in eviction court.

The law provides free legal aid for income-eligible tenants—those earning less than 200% of the federal poverty level, and is being rolled out in prioritized ZIP codes. A key feature of the legislation requires all eviction cases, regardless of eligibility, to go through an early-stage diversion or mediation process. Before the legislation, 86% of landlords had legal representation compared to just 2% of tenants, and 72% of tenants failed to appear for hearings.

“Representation matters,” Lessner told Council. “In national studies, tenants with lawyers are eight to 200 times more likely to succeed in court.”

Rhine emphasized that early intervention is essential and encouraged anyone facing housing issues (not just those with a formal court filing) to seek legal help immediately.

“Anyone who needs legal assistance should get it as soon as possible,” Rhine said. “We have a lot of folks who think that they can’t call us until their eviction is filed. That is not true. The right to representation law allows us to help people very early in dispute process.”

In addition to legal support, Rhine highlighted a temporary COVID-era Settlement Assistance Fund that has helped tenants resolve disputes by providing one-time grants of $1,000. The fund is set to expire in September.

According to data presented at the meeting, from November 2023 to March 2025, 6,750 eviction cases were filed in Wilmington. Of those, 980 cases were handled by legal aid organizations, and 266 were resolved with the help of settlement assistance funding. ZIP codes 19801 and 19802 accounted for the majority of filings.

(Data provided by CLASI)

Looking ahead, CLASI projects that 4,765 eviction cases will be filed annually in the city. Based on current trends, they estimate that 30% of those tenants would qualify for and accept legal aid, and that 50% of those cases—715 annually—would benefit from settlement funds. At an average of $1,100 per case, the total projected cost is $786,000 per year.

Councilmember Chris Johnson, who co-sponsored a prior resolution backing the right to representation, added, “I don’t know how we’re going to do it, but we’re going to figure it out.”