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An ordinance to amend Title 2 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws to create a new chapter establishing an eviction right to counsel program to be administered by the Housing Division of the Department of Planning.
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WHEREAS, in February 2022, Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands ("Legal Aid"), Con?xion Americas, Workers Dignity, and the Hispanic Bar Association prepared a report on right to counsel programs across the nation and proposed a right to counsel program in Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County in order to provide outreach, education, and legal representation to low-income families facing eviction; and
WHEREAS, the Metropolitan Council appropriated American Rescue Plan Act ("ARPA") funds to pilot an eviction right to counsel program through a partnership with Legal Aid, the Hispanic Bar Association, and other nonprofit organizations; and
WHEREAS, The Eviction Lab reports over 14,000 eviction filings in Davidson County over the past 12 months, with 1,256 eviction filings in January 2026; and
WHEREAS, the Unified Housing Strategy found that the ERTC program is essential to ensuring stability for Nashvillians facing eviction and the program should be operationalized in a Metro department to ensure continuity; and
WHEREAS, the Metropolitan Government determines that it is in the best interest of the citizens of Nashville and Davidson County to establish the Eviction Right to Counsel to reduce displacement due to eviction, increase housing stability, and reduce inflows into homelessness and to authorize the Housing Division of the Metropolitan Planning Department to establish program guidelines and oversee program implementation; and
WHEREAS, the ERTC program may be supported by appropriations by the Metropolitan Council and/or by private funding.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:
Section 1. That Title 2 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws is hereby ...
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