You may be fortunate enough to live somewhere where strong advocacy by tenant groups has taken away a landlord’s ability to throw you out of your home for any reason whatsoever.  It’s called “Just Cause Protection.” Sonoma County and Antioch recently adopted Just Cause ordinances and Alameda County has had Just Cause protection for many years.

But, even with this protection, evictions still happen. Someday you may be the person who wakes up to a three-day eviction notice tacked to your door.

If that happens, we want you to be prepared. That’s why, today, we’re covering the procedure known as an Unlawful Detainer. That’s another piece of paper that may land on your door. This one offers you a day in court after you get a 3-day eviction notice.

Our guest, Erin Neff, is an expert in these court hearings. They have defended families at risk of eviction from some of the worst landlords in New York City. They are an experienced attorney in housing law in support of the disability community, and they work for the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, known as DREDF.

Erin Neff will explain what it means for a person with a disability to have their day in court. And, we’ll also spend some time exploring the legal situation for someone with a Section 8 voucher.

This program is hosted and produced by Eddie Ytuarte.

As a Senior Staff Attorney at DREDF, Erin Nguyen Neff primarily focuses on civil rights cases, impact litigation, and policy advocacy for people with disabilities. They began their career as a tenant lawyer for the Legal Aid Society in Brooklyn. Erin has also worked at California Rural Legal Assistance and the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, where she was the Lead Policy Attorney for their Housing Program. With housing rights and policy as a predominant focus throughout Erin’s career, they believe housing is a human right – and the decommodification of housing is necessary to uphold that right.

They completed their undergraduate degree in psychology at George Mason University and their law degree at the American University, Washington College of Law, where they were an editor for the Journal of Gender, Social Policy, and the Law. Erin is licensed to practice law in both the state of New York and California.

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