BOISE, Idaho — The cost of renting in Boise is expensive. Although it has dipped down recently, it hasn't been by much, and a lot of renters in the area are having difficulty scraping their rent together. For those that can't, they can face eviction, which is a scary process that leaves many feeling like they don't have any options. Wrest Collective, a newly formed legal firm, is aiming to help people that have found themselves facing an eviction.
"I think the most immediate concern faced by tenants who are subject to eviction is obviously that its cold outside," said Casey Parsons, an attorney at Wrest. "They're losing their home, they're at risk of not having a place to sleep at night and this year in particular the weather has made that extremely difficult for tenants who are facing homelessness."
The collective is offering a series of clinics called "Home for the Holidays" where people can go and get free legal advice if they have received an eviction notice, if they have questions regarding the legal process of eviction or if they need information on renter's rights.
"The number one issue that renters in the Treasure Valley face in my experience is an increase in rent prices," said Parsons. "Rent prices have increased substantially and that increase has been sustained over a significant period of time, and so it's difficult to make ends meet."
Parsons said that the number of evictions has been rising steadily primarily based on the non-payment of rent.
"Most tenants have a very short period of time to seek legal advice and counsel to make decisions about how to keep their housing," said Parsons.
At the clinics people can learn about what rights they have as renters, what they can do when faced with an eviction lawsuit and questions about security deposits and repairs.
Parsons said that the city, state and county all have broad power to pass legislation and ordinances that could benefit tenants.
"I think that the best thing that could happen is for tenants to be educated about what their rights are and have access to counsel to make sure that when they go to court, they're not faced with a landlord who has an attorney who does this all the time," said Parsons. "The bottom line is that tenants need to know what their rights are and that is what these clinics are meant to provide."
Registration is open for all clinics but only mandatory for those online.
"Home for the Holidays" clinics:
Wednesday, Dec. 14 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Collister Library
Friday, Dec. 16 10:00 a.m. to noon, online. Register at bit.ly/resisteviction
Saturday, Dec. 17 noon to 2:00 p.m. at Hillcrest Library
Wednesday, Dec. 21 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at The Linen Building
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