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The Housing Justice Project’s Appointed Counsel Team represents tenants in eviction hearings. If you are low income and have been served with a Summons and Complaint for Unlawful Detainer (Eviction), contact HJP right away. If you have a show cause hearing scheduled, COME TO YOUR HEARING so our Appointed Counsel attorneys will have a chance to provide you representation. The Housing Justice Project also provides tenants help with eviction notices, installment plans for move-in costs, move-out issues, deposits, repairs, disputes, habitability, discrimination, illegal lockouts, utility shutoffs, past evictions, criminal history/legal financial obligations on your record and more, including community outreach and education and work with community partners to remove barriers to becoming housed and staying housed.

Attorneys who provide advice and (sometimes) representation for those who are being evicted or who are having Landlord/Tenant issues. Interpreters available.

Provides free civil legal services for youth and young adults between ages 12-24 who are experiencing homelessness or housing instability.

Services are provided by trained professional mediators who volunteer their time. Services include: - Face to Face Mediation - Coaching for problems - Some simple negotiation over the telephone TYPES OF PROBLEMS THE CENTER WILL HANDLE: - Divorce mediation - Parenting Plan mediation - Neighborhood problems (noise, pets, parking, lawn & garden, property line problems and other nuisances) - Landlord-tenant issues (deposits, repairs, damages, etc.) - Real estate or personal property - Business consumer problems (faulty merchandise, refunds, exchanges, etc.) - Employer/employee grievances - School problems involving faculty or administration, students or parents - Family issues such as problems related to divorce and parenting plans - Other domestic problems not involving violence or other factors that require professional intervention or assistance TYPES OF PROBLEMS NOT HANDLED: Any problem requiring legal assistance, such as filing lawsuits (criminal defenses, will preparation, etc.); issues involving drug/alcohol abuse, domestic violence, abuse to children, or issues where one or more parties fears abuse; or problems where a party cannot speak adequately on their own behalf, although can work with clients who have a case manager. Other Services Provided: - Offers workshop of varying lengths to organizations, businesses, and groups on a range of topics including: conflict resolution, negotiation, communication, conflict styles, and dealing with difficult people. - Victim Offender Meeting Program: Brings together victims of juvenile crime with the offenders to talk about the impact of the crime and for the youth to make amends. - Assists senior citizens to resolve disputes with family members, businesses, landlords, neighbors and others through mediation. - Parent Youth Mediation Service: Allows parents and teenagers or pre-teens to sit down together to talk about how things are going within the family and develop agreements on behaviors, level of independence, respectful communication and consequences. Co-mediators assist the mediating parties.

Provides information and referrals to both landlords and tenants to resolve disputes that arise under the Washington State Residential Landlord-Tenant Act.   Available to both property owners, property managers, and tenants within the Tacoma City Limits.

Investigates and enforces housing and zoning codes.  Representatives will contact landlords and instruct them to make needed repairs.  Complaints regarding health and sanitation, public nuisance, junk vehicles, and abatement of dangerous buildings also handled. Referrals made when appropriate.

Operates a legal clinic providing a free 30-minute consultation with an attorney (60 minutes if an interpreter or other accommodation is needed) Clinic is open to all, but particular focus is on providing culturally-informed legal services in a safe and welcoming environment to individuals who identify as African American or Black. This clinic is staffed primarily by attorneys of color. Clinic attorneys can: -  Determine whether the client has a legal problem -  Suggest possible options -  Help answer papers, summons and requests -  Provide appropriate referrals   Neighborhood Legal Clinic attorneys may not have expertise in all areas of the law, but they will make every attempt to answer questions accurately. Attorneys CANNOT give advice on criminal legal issues or provide representation on any legal matters.

Provides civil legal aid services to low-income tenants with pending eviction, subsidy terminations and requests for reasonable accommodation in King County. Tenant Law Center attorneys can assist with evictions from permanent and subsidized housing. A notice is not required Tenant Law Center can assist with: - Pending evictions for residents who have not yet received a Summons and Complaint. - Preventing Section 8 subsidy terminations for King County residents (cannot do reinstatements); must have written notice of pending subsidy termination. - Helps tenants in King County get reasonable accommodations after the initial request was denied.

Provides voluntary confidential mediation to individuals, organizations and communities. Serves as an alternative or compliment to the judicial system, provides professional training in mediation and conflict resolution, and promotes the vital importance of peacefully resolving disputes. Provides assistance with the following issues: -  Neighborhood problems (noise, pets, parking, lawn & garden, property line problems and other nuisances) -  Landlord-tenant issues (deposits, repairs, damages, etc.) -  Real estate or personal property -  Foreclosure mediation -  Business consumer problems (faulty merchandise, refunds, exchanges, etc.) -  Employer/employee grievances -  School problems involving faculty or administration, students or parents -  Family issues such as problems related to divorce and parenting plans -  Other domestic problems not involving violence or other factors that require professional intervention or assistance Does not assist with the following issues: -  Any problem requiring legal assistance, such as filing lawsuits, criminal defenses, will preparation, etc. -  Issues involving drug/alcohol abuse, domestic violence, abuse to children, or issues where one or more parties fears abuse -  Problems where a party cannot speak adequately on their own behalf, although can work with clients who have a case manager

Assistance is available to help reduce homelessness by preventing illegal and unnecessary evictions. Assistance is provided to vulnerable tenants by focusing on negotiated resolutions that preserve tenant housing, preserve subsidies, or allow for relocation to suitable housing without the stigma of eviction. Tenants may be scheduled for an appointment with an attorney, who can provide free legal assistance ranging from self-help information to ongoing representation through negotiation with the landlord or representation in court. This service does not provide rental assistance.

Offers free legal assistance to tenants involved in eviction disputes. Attorneys will offer legal advice and referrals; attorneys may also be able to negotiate with the landlord or represent the tenant.

Provides crisis resolution through giving strategic advice and negotiating to resolve a dispute or obtain items or services for the client. Also assists with information and resources. Types of problems include: - Money/Benefits - Housing - Employment - Health care - Consumer - Relationships - Bureaucracy Cannot give legal advice or direct cash assistance and cannot promise a particular outcome.

- Offers free legal assistance to low-income tenants involved in residential eviction court proceedings. Legal assistants interview tenants and attorneys review all relevant documents. - Attorneys will represent in court and to resolve filed eviction lawsuit; attorneys will also negotiate with the landlord and represent the tenant. - Attorneys are unable to assist with evictions from emergency shelters or residential care facilities (such as nursing homes). Attorneys may assist those being evicted from permanent, transitional, and manufactured (mobile home) housing. - Drop-in child care provided by the Children's Home Society at the Regional Justice Center for parents while they appear in court.

Mediation is one way that people can resolve their conflicts and still maintain or improve the quality of the relationship with the other person. In a family, a business environment, or in small towns, this can be especially important.   What you can expect in a mediation session:   Trained certified mediators to guide you through the mediation process and the expectation of the mediation   To keep the communication productive and focused on the issue the mediator will outline what it means to mediate in good faith   Time to tell all parties your story, how you feel, and how you would like to resolve the issues   Time to listen and hear the other parties’ stories, how they feel, and how they would like to resolve the issues   Work together to outline a list of items you would like resolved   Talk to each other and come to mutually agreeable solutions    Design your own settlement agreements that are long lasting   Mediation sessions can last up to 3 hours, and parties can schedule multiple session based on their own needs.    Parenting Plan Creation and Parenting Plan Modifications In the state of Washington, parents are required to have a "Parenting Plan" before a judge will grant a divorce.  In Mediation the parents can work together in the best interest of the children, work through historical issues, and work towards healthy communication and respectful relationship.  Additionally, parents will have the opportunity to design their parenting plan that looks to the future; identifying potential changes in their lives: i.e. new partners, residential transfers, children's changing needs.    When parents' communication is ineffective, children suffer in school, in peer relationships and in self-esteem. Unresolved conflict is expensive.   Business Mediations are an effective and efficient process to help resolve employment disputes. A neutral mediator can assist parties in reaching a voluntary, negotiated agreement. Choosing mediation to resolve employment disputes promotes a better work environment, reduces costs and brings satisfaction for both the employer and the employee.   According to Halvorson Human Resources, the cost of turnover ranges from approximately 3 months pay for an hourly worker to $145,000 for a hi-tech employee.  Conflict is expensive.  PDRC offers the following meditations: Family, Divorce, Parenting Plans, Foreclosure, Neighborhood, Workplace, Business, Landlord/Tenant

Provides Legal information on the following topics: Divorce, Parenting Plan Modification, Paternity, Third-Party Custody and Protection Orders. Also provides services for Land Lord/Tennant Issues, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Bankruptcy, and Will preparation

Provides free 45-minute to 1-hour appointments with an attorney for advice on civil legal issues such as: consumer, finance/debt, employment, housing, benefits. Appointments are required. Clinics are currently telephonic. Attorneys at the clinic are not able to provide representation.

Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) housing and zoning inspectors respond to complaints about:   -  Minimum housing standards -  Land use violations -  Shorelines -  "Just cause" eviction -  Vacant and unfit buildings -  Lock-outs -  Rent increases without proper notice -  Landlord or property manager retaliation -  Landlord or property manager entering a unit without both notice and consent -  Prohibiting tenant organizing -  Landlord or property manager harassment Health and safety are the department's first priorities for investigation and resolution of reported violations.    Health concerns include tenant complaints about conditions that may cause mold in rental units, such as excessive moisture. Seattle’s Housing and Building Maintenance Code (HBMC) contains requirements designed to keep building occupants dry and warm. In a building maintained in compliance with code requirements, all components of the building including foundation, roof, walls and windows are reasonably weather tight, watertight and damp-free.   SDCI conducts inspections of the property named in the complaint and contacts the landlord. SDCI sets a time frame for voluntary resolution.   Code compliance specialists will take cases that violate housing codes, and will require rescission of bad eviction notices and correction of unsafe or unpermitted housing conditions. The law department will eventually sue violators if necessary. Also performs investigations of illegal evictions.   New enforcement for leases entered into after 1/15/17. Refer if: -  The landlord requires security deposit/nonrefundable move-in fees that are more than first month's rent   -  The landlord requires nonrefundable move-in fees other than for tenant screening report, cleaning at termination of tenancy, criminal background check, or credit report   -  The landlord requires a pet deposit that is more than 25% of first month's rent or any other pet fee/rent -  The landlord refuses to enter payment plan for security deposit/nonrefundable move-in fees, pet deposit, or last month's rent -  The deposit not returned and no move-in checklist was signed by landlord and tenant at move-in -  No statement of deposit or deposit returned 21 days after tenant moved out   Advance notice may be needed for an interpreter.

Provides free legal advice and/or representation to low-income Kitsap County tenants facing eviction.

Provides mediation services to the courts in Benton and Franklin counties, and for those who choose to resolve their disputes in a non-adversarial and neutral environment. Services are much more affordable and less stressful than litigation. Mediate landlord/tenant disputes, neighbor disputes, family disagreements, divorce issues, parenting plans, domestic property divisions, employer/employee disputes, consumer/merchant disputes, co-worker disputes, citizen/governmental agency disputes, inter-agency disputes, and construction disputes.

Assists people to avoid high legal costs and to solve problems in a quick and cost effective way. Provides support for mediation, pre-trial settlements, legal options, parenting plans, and landlord/tenant conflicts.

- Offers free legal assistance to low-income tenants involved in residential eviction court proceedings. Legal assistants interview tenants and attorneys review all relevant documents. - Attorneys will represent in court and to resolve filed eviction lawsuit; attorneys will also negotiate with the landlord and represent the tenant. - Attorneys are unable to assist with evictions from emergency shelters or residential care facilities (such as nursing homes). Attorneys may assist those being evicted from permanent, transitional, and manufactured (mobile home) housing. - Drop-in child care provided by the Children's Home Society at the Regional Justice Center for parents while they appear in court.

Operates legal clinics providing free 30 minute consultations with an attorney at multiple locations across King County. As of 9/2024, most clinics are telephonic, but there may be limited in-person availability in Seattle and Kent. Details will be provided to clients during intake screening. Clinic attorneys can: - Determine whether the client has a legal problem - Suggest possible options - Help answer papers, summons and requests - Provide appropriate referrals Neighborhood Legal Clinic attorneys may not have expertise in all areas of the law, but they will make every attempt to answer questions accurately. Attorneys CANNOT give advice on criminal legal issues or provide representation on any legal matters.

It provides for a process to assist landlords and tenants in making rent repayment plans, in negotiation of lease related concerns, or in any other housing related dispute. The purpose of the program is to prevent the eviction of tenants who wish to stay housed where they are or to create a seamless exit plan for those who wish to leave. The Peninsula Dispute Resolution Center is the lead agency in Clallam and Jefferson counties, to coordinate participation in rent repayment plans between landlords, tenants, their legal counsel, funding agencies and other services as needed.

The Dispute Resolution Center of Kitsap County offers mediation as a more peaceful alternative to litigation. If your wish is to avoid the court system, improve communication, or preserve or restore relationships, mediation is designed to do just that.  Clients that choose to use mediation still have the option of using the court system should the outcome of mediation not meet their needs.  What is Mediation?   An informal process where impartial mediators help people resolve a conflict.   Mediators facilitate, or guide, the conversation.   Parties talk about what is important to them in a safe setting.   A private and confidential process.   An opportunity to explore options not considered in the past.   A chance to develop realistic, workable solutions.   Clients control the outcome - reaching an agreement is voluntary.   The DRC does not provide legal advice, counseling services or tell people how to resolve their conflict in mediation services.   Who should use mediation?    Mediation is an excellent choice for clients who wish to have a say in the outcome of the conflict. Typical cases we hear involve; Divorce cases, creating or Modifying Parent Plans, family/interpersonal disputes, Neighborhood conflicts, Commercial disputes, Landlord and tenant disputes, Workplace conflicts, Contract negotiations, Large group facilitations, Communication agreements and more.

Operates legal clinics providing free 30 minute consultations with an attorney. Focus is on Korean and Korean-speaking clients. Clinic attorneys can: -  Determine whether the client has a legal problem -  Suggest possible options -  Help answer papers, summons and requests -  Provide appropriate referrals   Neighborhood legal clinic attorneys may not have expertise in all areas of the law, but they will make every attempt to answer questions accurately. Attorneys CANNOT give advice on criminal legal issues or provide representation on any legal matters.