COMMENTS ON VERP GUIDELINES

Thank you for providing an opportunity to comment on the program guidelines for the Virginia Eviction Reduction Program (VERP). We view the continuation and expansion of VERP as essential to lowering eviction rates across Virginia. Over 90% of the unlawful detainer cases filed against renters in Virginia are based on claims of non-payment, and statewide eviction filings continue to hover slightly above 80% of where they were at their highest in 2018. Clearly, VERP is as necessary as ever, as data shows that communities with access to VERP funding see declining eviction rates. Thus, while the comments below suggest ways to improve the program and the application process, we want to emphasize our continued support and appreciation for VERP.

Strengthening Collaboration with Local Legal Aid Organizations

While the draft guidelines suggest that applicants can partner with local legal aid organizations through subgrant agreements or referrals, we urge DHCD to expand upon this opportunity by providing a clear framework for what the VERP-funded legal aid attorney will do. We suggest that, in addition to providing full-scale representation in exceptional cases under guidelines established by the primary grantee and the legal aid, the VERP-funded legal aid attorney could:

• Hold information sessions at the courthouse before the unlawful detainer return docket for tenants with cases on that day’s docket.
• Sit through the unlawful detainer return docket in the courtroom, to observe the judge’s ruling on each case and to serve as a “friend of the court,” assisting the judge in interpreting the law as needed and/or requested.
• Advise individual tenants after the docket ends on their potential next steps.

One major benefit of engaging a legal aid lawyer at the courthouse, as described above, is that tenants facing eviction will get almost immediate answers to their questions about the practical effect of the judge’s statements or ruling, and advice on what steps to take next. This immediacy is invaluable, as the eviction process moves quickly in Virginia, with tenants having ten short days to appeal a judgment for possession (eviction order) and often having the same short time frame to pay the landlord and redeem to have the eviction canceled.

In addition to providing courthouse assistance, a legal aid subgrantee should accept referrals of tenants from the primary grantee as soon as practicable so they can provide advice and screen the case for potential full representation before the first court date. These referrals should be in addition to the courthouse services described above.

Capacity Building Grants

The guidelines mention at the bottom of page six that if DHCD does not receive a fundable application for a high-priority or high-need locality, they can reserve a portion of available funds for capacity building grants for that area. However, it is unclear how eligible organizations will be notified about the availability of those capacity building grants and when the application period would open relative to the primary application period. Clarifying these things in the guidelines would be helpful.

Loss of Funds Due to Noncompliance

If a grantee is out of compliance and loses second-year funding as a result, we suggest providing that second-year funding to another eligible nonprofit serving the same localities or locality as the defunded grantee to try to maintain continuity of services.

VERP as a Stand-alone Service

We applaud DHCD for including in the VERP guidelines the rule that VERP assistance cannot be conditioned on a tenant accepting or participating in a referral. Often, tenants’ life circumstances make participating in services difficult if not impossible, and these tenants should not be penalized.

Hotel and Motel Residents

We urge DHCD to make people living in hotels or motels eligible to receive VERP assistance once they have lived in the hotel or motel for more than ninety consecutive days. Under the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, anyone who has resided in a hotel or motel as their primary residence for more than 90 days is treated as a tenant, with the same protections and rights as any other tenant. Thus, financial assistance and referrals, in particular referrals to legal aid in the event of an unlawful eviction/lockout, are critical to help this population find stable housing.

Organizational Capacity

The Organizational Capacity section at the bottom of page 31 of the guidelines implies that having delivered eviction prevention services in the past is a prerequisite to receiving VERP funding. We are concerned about this being a prerequisite, as it could create an unnecessary barrier to program expansion to new geographic areas unless the intention is to target high-need areas already providing eviction-reduction services with only local or other non-VERP funding, such as metropolitan Richmond or Northern Virginia.

Eviction Diversion Programs

We suggest adding to the guidelines on or about page 33 a recommendation that applicants in areas without an Eviction Diversion Program in their court describe how they will work with community partners to advocate with local General District Court judges for the establishment of a local Eviction Diversion Program.

Court Presence Plan

In accordance with our recommendations above, we suggest adding to the court presence plan section on page 34 of the guidelines: 

              If you have a subgrant agreement with the local legal aid, describe how legal aid will get court dockets in time to conduct conflicts of interest checks for the tenants with cases on the unlawful detainer return dates to ensure the legal aid attorney is authorized to accept a case for full representation without delay if warranted.

Thank you for considering our comments and suggestions. Please feel free to contact us with any questions.