The Tenant Resource Center and EDDP provide a wide variety of services to landlords and tenants, whether they’re currently facing eviction or simply have questions about their rights and responsibilities. In previous articles, we’ve discussed these services in detail (see “An Overview of the EDDP’s Services” and “New Partnerships in Sun Prairie” from our 2023 Year End Report for more details). However, this article highlights all of the services provided by our staff from the point an eviction action is filed in court up until the first hearing date.
On a daily basis, the Tenant Resource Center monitors the Dane County eviction court calendar to identify new eviction filings, changes in hearing dates to previously filed cases, and changes to cases that are still in progress. This data is entered into our centralized system that maintains key information about every eviction action filed in Dane County, including party information, attorney representation, attendance at hearings, outcomes, services provided, and any access to justice issues that may arise during a hearing. For each new case filed, our staff then reviews the Summons & Complaint and other documents filed to gather information about why the case was filed and what resources may be of interest to the household.
From here, our staff takes this data and sends a mailer to every household facing an eviction, including a reminder of the case number, hearing date, hearing time, and information about how to appear via Zoom. Also included is information about the EDDP, the Tenant Resource Center, and other services available in Dane County. Unfortunately, it is far too common that this mailer is the first time a household finds out that their landlord has filed for eviction.
At the same time, we begin the process of determining what next steps are needed in order to either process an application for financial assistance, offer a referral to an attorney, or offer mediation services to provide an alternative method to resolve the dispute. This information is entered into our case management software so that our team is ready to provide services from the moment a tenant first gets in contact with us seeking assistance. This process includes searching for details from previous applications for financial assistance, cataloging updates provided by the landlord to their applications within the system, and an initial assessment of the household’s prioritization within the program from the available data (see EDDP.TenantResourceCenter.org for more details). At this point, our team will also reach out to the parties to start requesting the necessary documents, identify what services they’re seeking, and provide more information about both the application process and the court process.
Because tenants are at risk of losing the case by default at the initial hearing if they don’t appear, our staff also searches our various databases of previous applications for assistance to find contact information so that our staff can later send reminder texts and emails to the household in advance of the hearing.
After all of this information is compiled, a case manager is then assigned to the case. Our staff then begins the process of reviewing the documents obtained so far, identifies what else is missing, and continues reaching out to the tenant and landlord to complete the process for any assistance available. In the past, this outreach also included in-person attempts to contact some of the most vulnerable tenants who may have difficulties completing the application process due to mobility issues, access to technology, or language barriers to accessing services. However, due to the volume of eviction actions in court and limited financial resources, our capacity for in-person outreach has been severely limited in recent months.
At this point in the process, many tenants end up coming into one of our office locations to further discuss their application for assistance and find out more about the eviction process. Our staff provides information and court navigation services to households in order to reduce the barriers to attending court. In the past year, the Tenant Resource Center has been able to expand our office location to also offer the ability for households to attend their Zoom hearing directly from our office. Our staff assists tenants in participating in the Zoom court process in both English and Spanish to ensure that a tenant is able to participate in their hearing and understand the process.
At any point in this process, either party may consult with our staff about their rental rights and responsibilities. Tenants can acquire crucial education about their rights, including information about responding to eviction notices, setting up a payment plan with their landlord, completing a coordinated entry screening for potential rental assistance funds, and learning what steps to take if their landlord conducts an illegal self-help eviction. This initial contact can be critical to providing tenants clarity about the eviction process as well as what services may be available to help them navigate an eviction.
In all, this process involves every member of our staff in some way or another. This collaborative effort has expanded considerably using the emergency financial assistance stemming from COVID-19 relief. However, many of these vital services remain at risk of losing funding once these federal funds are exhausted. Without the resources to provide these services, households will lose access to these vital wrap-around services and will be forced to face the often daunting eviction process alone.