EDC is here to help.
Below are some frequently asked legal questions and answers related to housing. Please contact us for additional assistance.
Reach out to EDC! We can connect you to your lawyer once you have a notice, even if the landlord hasn’t filed an eviction case against you in court. Find our hours and contact information here.
Not every tenant is eligible to receive free full scope representation, but all tenants are eligible for some legal assistance. To find out what services are available to you, please contact us or visit EDC/ our clinics during our drop in hours.
Each tenant who is eligible for a free attorney will go through an intake process and be assigned to an appropriate non-profit legal services organization. Because of the high demand for services tenants will not be able to choose their attorney. If a tenant does not like the free attorney assigned to them, the tenant will need to hire an attorney or represent themselves.
The free representation offered by the City of San Francisco is only provided by several non-profit organizations working together in providing those services, collectively forming the Tenant Right to Counsel (TRC) program. The City will not pay for attorneys who are not part of the TRC program.
There may be times when attorneys are not available to provide full scope representation (representation from the beginning of a case through trial). In those situations, a tenant will receive legal assistance with responding to the unlawful detainer (eviction) lawsuit and will have an attorney for their mandatory settlement conference the week before trial.
EDC works with all of the organizations providing free legal services to tenants in San Francisco. This includes:
EDC will assist you in preparing an emergency response to ensure you do not lose by default (i.e. forfeit the match so to speak). This will buy you enough time to get to your lawyer so they may help you with a more detailed response.
You do not have a right to an attorney, but you do have a right to repairs. Please contact any of the Tenant Counseling Organizations listed below for assistance.
