City of Phoenix approves $1.2M to provide free legal help for evictions

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The City of Phoenix has approved $1.2 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Act to go toward helping residents facing eviction.

The Tenant Eviction Assistance Project (TEAP) will provide eviction legal help to qualifying residents for free.

This comes as Maricopa County Justice Courts recorded 79,858 evictions filed from Jan. 1 to Nov. 30 of this year and 76,070 evictions from Jan. 1 to Nov. 30, 2023.

Phoenix’s Department of Human Services said TEAP would help with growing eviction rates by offering free legal help. This includes legal advice, representation and council, landlord-tenant mediation and post-eviction services.

According to Department of Human Services Director Jacqueline Edwards, this resource will help people avoid all the hardships that evictions brings.

“If a household is feeling as though they may be facing eviction, then they can contact us and there could be that mediation and to find a resolution,” Edwards said. “These interventions are really helpful to help prevent the eviction from actually being heard and going though as well.”

According to an Eviction Lab Research conducted by an organization at Princeton University, Maricopa County’s eviction filings are 22% higher than the national average.

If you’re interested in benefitting from this program, Edwards said there are certain criteria you have to meet to qualify.

”A household’s income cannot be anymore than 80% of the area median income, so that means for a family of four, they can’t make any more than $82,250 a year”

The Department of Human Services said there’s other eligibility criteria the program will look at once this resource will be available on Jan. 1, 2025.

TEAP provides free legal help and representation for evictions through Community Legal Services, a nonprofit law firm. For more information, call 602-385-8880.

If you need eviction prevention, rental and utility assistance programs right now, contact city-run Three Family Service Centers by calling 602-534-AIDE(2433) or 1-866-882-1778 or by completing an application online.

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