A reflection on nearly 50 years as an advocate for New Hampshire tenants

REAL ESTATE

Over 47 years as a lawyer at NH Legal Assistance, I have seen an awful lot of change for tenants in our state. Most judges hearing eviction cases in 1975 held that the only real issue was when, not whether, the tenant would have to vacate.

Especially for low-income people, who seldom had a lease, all a landlord had to do to evict was to show that he served a 30-day notice, and it was game over. It was also fairly common for landlords to ignore the eviction process entirely, lock the tenant out, and then wait to see if the tenant was fortunate enough to find — and could afford — a lawyer. Even then, seldom were there any consequences for self-help eviction.

Thankfully, the landscape is very different today. In the vast majority of eviction cases the landlord must prove that he has “good cause” to evict a tenant — even when there is no lease. Tenants facing self-help evictions can file a petition and obtain an order to get back in to their home the same day without needing a lawyer. If the tenant prevails after a final hearing, the judge must award the tenant money damages, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars.

Not only has the law changed, but today’s judges are also much more attuned to the importance of eviction cases and treat them as seriously as any other type of case, demanding that landlords meet their burden of proving good cause for the eviction.

There is one thing, however, that hasn’t changed a bit. There is no law, regulation or administrative body that has the authority to limit the amount of a rent increase, no matter how outrageous it is. I have tried everything that I can think of to provide some relief to tenants who fall victim to hostile market forces and landlords who mercilessly exploit them, but nothing has worked.

When I was a young lawyer, I thought if tenants organized well enough, we could enact a locally managed mechanism to which a tenant could appeal when confronted with an unjust rent increase.

The town of Allenstown presented a perfect test case.

The town had, and still has, a high number of residents living in manufactured housing parks. “Mobile home” is a real misnomer because in reality the homes are not mobile, and if they were, there is seldom anywhere to move them. They are a textbook example of a “captive audience.” A park owner can increase the rent on their lots at any time and by any amount. If the residents can’t afford the rent increase, the very existence of their homes are threatened.

So, organize we did: We went door to door, and the town meeting passed the ordinance. But a group of landlords sued, alleging that the town had no authority to do that without permission from the Legislature. The Supreme Court agreed with the landlords. On numerous occasions since that ruling we have tried without success to get the Legislature to do something. The fact that we haven’t moved the needle on this issue at all over five decades is one of the biggest regrets of my career.

So although I am retiring from practice at the end of October, I will continue to work with allies and support legislation to grant cities and towns the authority to reject unjust rent increases.

Why? The market conditions for tenants here in New Hampshire are the worst that I have ever seen.

Just last month, I worked with a family whose landlord raised the rent from $1,475 to $3,000 a month, with 32 days’ notice. This client earns less than $3,000 a month. Most of our clients facing similar crises make far less.

Somebody, somewhere, should have the authority to say that a 103 percent rent increase is just too much to ask of people fighting to pay for their most basic living needs.

For many of our clients and others living with low incomes in New Hampshire, the result of an eviction — especially in this housing market — is homelessness. And while I believe that no one deserves to be homeless, it’s especially true for families with children.

I know an uphill battle when I see one. But I could not have done this work this long if I did not have the heart of an optimist.

And if we don’t try, nothing can change.

Elliott Berry, who has been working as an attorney and anti-poverty advocate with NH Legal Assistance since 1975, will be retiring from the organization on Oct. 31.