Housing

Krystal: "I Don’t Know Where I Would Be”

richardsons@lsc.gov — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 22:58:33 +0000

Krystal: "I Don’t Know Where I Would Be” richardsons@lsc.gov Wed, 01/21/2026 - 17:58

When Krystal Freeman was facing eviction, she tried navigating the court process on her own. But she needed the help of a legal services attorney.

Meet Krystal

Krystal is a 40-year-old single mother of two sons. After allowing her disabled mother to stay briefly in her home, Krystal received an eviction notice, saying she had violated her lease. Worse still, the eviction filing caused her housing voucher to terminate, putting her at risk of not being able to afford a place to live. After struggling to figure out how to file the correct paperwork, Krystal turned to Legal Services of Greater Miami. Her attorney helped guide her through the legal process of getting the eviction dismissed, preserving her housing voucher and finding a new place to live for herself and her sons.

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Research consistently demonstrates that while landlords have legal representation in more than 80% of cases, tenants have representation in less than 5% of cases.

Stable housing supports strong communities, local economies and public safety. When eviction is the first or only option in a housing dispute, families, property owners, courts and public systems all bear the cost.

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Housing

Janée: Her Landlord Wouldn't Heat Her Home

richardsons@lsc.gov — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 16:39:40 +0000

Janée: Her Landlord Wouldn't Heat Her Home richardsons@lsc.gov Wed, 01/21/2026 - 11:39

Janée Angelíque repeatedly let her property manager know that she didn’t have any heat. It took the help of an attorney to get it turned back on.

Meet Janée

It was late fall in Detroit when Janée first realized she didn’t have any heat. She raised the issue with her property manager, who refused to acknowledge that there was a problem. For months, Janée suffered through dropping temperatures. Finally, she reached out to Lakeshore Legal Aid. At court, Janée’s lawyers showed proof of the temperature in the apartment over four and a half months, including 44 days where the temperature never got to 65 degrees. On winning her case, Janée said, “I’m so grateful to Lakeshore Legal Aid for representing me, believing in me, and standing by my side...”

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Housing cases comprise the largest proportion of all ��è��Ƶ-funded cases.

From 2020 to 2024, housing topped the list of cases ��è��Ƶ grantees closed, making up more than a third of overall cases, including private landlord/tenant disputes, like Janée’s story.

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Housing

Helping Rural Clients Keep Their Homes

admin — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 20:25:46 +0000

Helping Rural Clients Keep Their Homes admin Tue, 08/11/2015 - 16:25

When Linda’s * elderly mother grew ill with a terminal sickness, Linda moved into the old family home in a rural area of Georgia to take care of her. She learned that no one had been paying the property taxes on the home, and was shocked to discover the property had been sold at a tax sale.
Linda tried to get the tax sale purchaser to allow her to redeem the property, but he refused. Overwhelmed with the possibility of losing the family home, she turned to the legal aid attorneys at Georgia Legal Services Program (GLSP) for help.

The tax sale purchaser also refused GLSP’s efforts to negotiate a redemption before the statutory period passed. GLSP promptly filed a lawsuit.
After GLSP’s opening statement at the temporary hearing, the tax sale purchaser decided to accept Linda’s offer to redeem the home by paying the property taxes and the statutory penalty.
Had it not been for Linda’s representation by GLSP legal aid attorneys, Linda’s mother would have lost the family home during a critical period of their lives.

*Names have been changed

Housing

Rural

Georgia