Cincinnati’s eviction prevention programs helped 779 households during a 17-month period, according to a new report. About two-thirds of those households received legal representation in eviction court, with 86% avoiding “disruptive displacement” as a result.
"We are a city that is 60 percent renters. Evictions happened in this city and this county in less than 60 seconds before this work," Council member Meeka Owens said, referencing how quickly eviction proceedings take in Hamilton County Courts when tenants don't have legal representation.
The report spans from Jan. 1, 2024 through June 6, 2025, and includes data from several city-funded programs related to eviction prevention and assistance. Collectively, those programs are labeled as Stabilization Through Eviction Prevention (STEP), which includes:
- Rent assistance through the United Way of Greater Cincinnati
- Full legal representation for tenants facing eviction through the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati
- Same-day, limited legal representation for tenants facing eviction through the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Help Center
The newly released evaluation includes only services provided to residents of the city of Cincinnati using city funds, although the United Way and Legal Aid provide services to non-city residents as well.
Local organization Interact for Health commissioned and paid for the evaluation. It was prepared by Stout, a global advisory firm that has conducted dozens of analyses on eviction prevention and “right to counsel” or “access to counsel” programs across the country.
What’s working
Nearly all landlords in eviction court have an attorney — 90% according to the report — but about the same percentage of tenants facing eviction have no legal representation.
"The outcome can be decided at the very first hearing," Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Pavan Parikh said. "That means tenants without legal guidance can lose their housing in minutes or even quicker... The limited eviction representation program puts legal assistance directly at that moment, ensuring that tenants who would otherwise face the system alone get real, immediate legal support."
Full representation through Legal Aid is the most effective, because attorneys can meet with tenants and landlords before the initial hearing and identify defenses or secure rental assistance.
Of the 224 cases Legal Aid closed for Cincinnati residents during the reporting period, 77% were provided this full assistance; and of those cases, 92% avoided eviction or an involuntary move.
Limited representation is a much newer program. Called Access to Counsel, the program has an attorney working with the Hamilton County Help Center at a table outside the courtroom on Tuesday and Thursdays, offering same-day help to anyone eligible. It’s somewhat less effective in terms of getting an eviction dismissed; 76% of cases were either dismissed by the court or through a negotiated agreement with the landlord.
Shannon Price is the attorney who works eviction cases via the Hamilton County Help Desk at the court house. She says that negotiation can be key to helping a tenant avoid the future toll of having an eviction on their record.
"If they can do this on an agreed basis, that means their credit's going to be better, their ability to apply with other landlords is going to be better," Price says. "It's a much less destabilizing event for the family."
Though it's somewhat less effective than more substantial legal help, same-day representation can reach many more households: 337 households in just nine months, compared to Legal Aid’s 225 households in twice that amount of time. Sometime in early 2026, the help center will expand same-day services to five days a week for all county residents thanks to a few private grants.
Price says rental assistance or a negotiation for more time to move out via the same-day representation program can be pivotal for a tenant. But sometimes, they can also win their cases outright.
"This is an area of the law where there has been very little oversight for a very long time," she says. "And so we will identify these deficiencies, these mistakes in the process: landlord did not provide enough notice, landlord did not provide the right type of notice, tenant did pay and the records were off. And we'll leverage those to get what we call a dismissal on the merits in front of the court."
Even in cases that ended with a court-ordered eviction, tenants reported better terms like more time to move out.
The report recommends the city increase funding levels to existing programs across the board.
“By building early interventions into the ecosystem, Cincinnati could not only respond more effectively to tenant and landlord needs but also decrease the volume of eviction filings and the likelihood that a tenant would require a publicly funded social safety net response,” the report reads.
The report calculates a remarkable “fiscal impact” of about $4.5 million, based on the number of households estimated to have avoided “disruptive displacement” as a result of these programs.
That number is not a direct cost savings; it includes $2.5 million related to services that may have been needed by households experiencing homelessness, like use of emergency shelters.
It also includes “retained economic value” by keeping Cincinnati residents in the city; less Medicaid spending (given that people experiencing homelessness have higher rates of in-patient and emergency room care); and retained federal and state funding for Cincinnati Public Schools.
Recommendations
Although more funding is suggested across the board, the report says specifically that the city has not allocated enough money for rent assistance to meet the current need. As programs expand to serve more households, that problem will be exacerbated.
It also recommends expanding services for both tenants and landlords prior to an eviction filing, with the goal of avoiding the court system altogether.
“Proactively engaging with landlords to develop collaborative eviction filing prevention strategies, such as streamlined referrals to low barrier rent assistance, pathways to pre-filing mediation, flexible repayment plans, or assistance with household budgeting or benefits enrollment can decrease the volume of eviction filings while also meeting landlords’ needs for the timely payment of back rent owed,” the report says.
The report says existing services are helpful for households experiencing only a temporary financial challenge, but who can afford to pay rent moving forward. The report recommends the city hire “Housing Counselors” to help households facing long-term challenges.
“Households who cannot afford their current rent going forward will likely require housing transition services rather than tenancy preservation,” the report says. “Housing Counselors can assist with identifying alternative housing, coordinating relocation services, and developing household budgets.”
See the full report below:
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