Why Durham is betting on Legal Aid to prevent evictions amid rising rent costs
The Durham City Council is considering extending an eviction-diversion program for another year to help keep more low-income residents in their homes.
But a tense discussion at Thursday’s council meeting raised questions about whether the program is reaching tenants early enough to prevent eviction filings and whether mediation is working the way the city intended.
The city’s Eviction Diversion Program operates through a contract with Legal Aid of North Carolina. The council is considering extending the agreement from June 30, 2026, to June 30, 2027, and adding another $725,000 from the city’s housing fund to increase the total contract amount from $725,000 to $1.45 million.
The program, launched last year, provides mediation, legal assistance, and tenant/landlord education for renters facing eviction. North Carolina has seen record-high eviction filings in recent years, and the average cost for a one-bedroom apartment in Durham is $1,400 a month.
“North Carolina is one of the most unfriendly states for tenants in the country,” City Councilwoman Chelsea Cook said Thursday. “We are in an eviction crisis in North Carolina and in Durham, and the reason that people are facing eviction is because the cost of everything is going up, while wages are staying the same.”
State law and the local crisis
In North Carolina, landlords can move quickly to file for eviction once rent is past due, a reality that speakers said leaves tenants little time to recover financially or get help.
Many residents don’t realize how fast an eviction case can end in lockout. Once a magistrate enters a summary ejectment judgment, a tenant can have as little as two weeks before sheriff’s deputies arrives to remove belongings and padlock the home, speakers told the council.
Ajax Woolley, a Durham resident, said “homelessness is the next stop” for many families.
“It’s very easy for Durham landlords to get an eviction judgment, a summary ejectment, in small claims court,” Woolley said. “A landlord can file eviction paperwork, have a quick process, and avoid hiring a lawyer.”
Cook also cited research linking eviction to broader community impacts. She referenced a University of Chicago study that found that every 1% increase in eviction rates in a census tract was associated with 2.66 more shootings.
Council member Carl Rist said tenant protections are a core part of the city’s housing work.
“Tenant protection is one of the key pillars of our housing strategy,” he said. “We’ve got to provide for our renters.”
He added that the city and Legal Aid should reevaluate how to strengthen mediation within the program.
Mediation falls short of the goal
City documents say the current contract expects Legal Aid to serve 100 households through mediation, open 500 legal representation cases, and run tenant/landlord education workshops.
As of May, Legal Aid reported it had opened 768 new legal representation cases, preserved tenancy for about 42% of households served, and helped about 73% avoid an eviction judgment by negotiating move-out dates.
But mediation — intended to help resolve disputes before they escalate into court action — has lagged. Only 11 households received mediation services, compared with a goal of 100.
City staff attributed the shortfall, in part, to how emergency rental assistance is structured through the Durham County Department of Social Services. The county’s assistance — up to $2,000 — is generally available only after a court filing, which limits the ability to resolve cases before they reach court and can reduce a landlord’s incentive to negotiate early.
Sarah D’Amato, a Legal Aid attorney, told the council that the process often hinges on landlord cooperation and patience with delays in rental assistance.
“We had one [case]) last week where the landlord was really, really patient with DSS and getting those funds,” she said. “They understand that there’s some problems with that, so there’s a lot that’s also dependent on the landlord being open to accepting those funds and being patient with the process.”
The City Council will vote on the proposal at its next meeting June 15.
This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 6:35 AM with the headline "Why Durham is betting on Legal Aid to prevent evictions amid rising rent costs."