So evictions in the USA are one of those really messy things which most tenants do not even know a fraction of the laws involved. Landlords have taken advantage of this fact to wrongfully evict tenants, often without even having to go to court because the tenant can't afford legal counsel.
Seattle finally joined the growing number of cities who offered a "public defender" of sorts for tenants facing eviction. This is likely because of our growing homeless problem, which is likely a result of the fact that landlords are finding ways around the eviction moratorium.
But what do home owners say? They're complaining, of course.
We have had this serious problem in the USA where the people who have money are convinced that everyone who doesn't have money are somehow out to get them. Which has resulted in creating a huge divide between those who have, and those who struggle just to get what we need.
The end result is what we see in renting, where somehow people have this idea that every eviction is justified. The pathetic irony being that most evictions are without good reason, and often those who should be evicted never are.
A primary reason why those who should be evicted manage to avoid it is that the landlords just listen to neighbor complaints, and the Karen types are generally the loudest. The ones most likely to be wrongfully evicted are the quiet types who typically stay to themselves and don't scream about every little thing.
Then that one thing causes the quiet person to complain just once about someone, and suddenly the Karen types will start an onslaught of complaints as well as generating rumors to ruin the quiet person's reputation with the landlord. Resulting in the one who did nothing wrong being evicted while the Karen type remains secure in their residence.
This is, of course, only one example of how the disparity shows up, there are many others. Well, with the court appointed lawyer the quiet person suddenly has the strength of the law behind them, as well as all the information normally only afforded to the landlord on how to fight any wrongful eviction in court.
Now the biggest complaint I've seen is about the cost. But let's put this into perspective.
A homeless person will cost about $35,000+ a year, that's taxes it comes from. My apartment generally costs about $5,000 per year in tax dollars, I still pay almost half of the total costs and the rest is subsidized.
Though the average is about $12,000 per year for housing and that include "supportive" housing. So it's in your best interest to house people, not kick them out onto the streets.
Source: https://endhomelessness.org/resource/ending-chronic-homelessness-saves-taxpayers-money-2/
