The Housing Justice Program at the College of Law is a collaborative legal program intended to expand on and supplement the work of the Tenant Assistance Project. The Program includes the eviction prevention work of the Tenant Assistance Project, the Housing Justice Fellowship program, the Housing Justice Clinic, and the incorporation of resource navigation and continuing non-legal support for struggling families.
Objectives of the Housing Justice Program include helping tenants understand and assert their rights under Nebraska landlord-tenant law, and making housing laws more equitable and accessible for Nebraskans. The Program will do this through a combination of eviction defense work, impact litigation, community involvement, and educational programming. As a foundational component, the Program will provide both practicing lawyers and law students opportunities for impactful pro bono work, and encourage the legal community to lead the charge in establishing housing as a human right.
Housing Justice Clinic
The Housing Justice Clinic is the sixth legal clinic at Nebraska Law to offer hands-on training to students. Working alongside attorneys, senior-certified law students will represent tenants during eviction hearings. Students will make court appearnces on a regular basis and will focus their work on eviction defense, tenants' rights, and improving housing conditions for Nebraska renters.
Tenant Assistance Project
The Tenant Assistance Project began in April 2020 to support unrepresented tenants and families facing eviction. Volunteer attorneys and student attorneys meet with unrepresented tenants as they arrive at the courthouse for eviction hearings and offer support.
- When a Tenant Assistance Project volunteer attorney or student attorney is working with a tenant, 98% of cases are resolved without an immediate eviction.
- The Tenant Assistance Project has helped keep more than 2,000 Nebraska families in their homes.
- Tenants are connected to support and resources, including more than $20 million in federal aid or rental assistance.
- The Tenant Assistance Project has an active presence in Lancaster and Douglas Counties. More than half the volunteers in Lancaster County are Nebraska Law students.
