A new Boston city councilor is pushing for a local pilot program that would “level the playing field” for tenants facing eviction, by providing low-income renters with legal representation to help them navigate the complex court system.

Councilor Benjamin Weber put forward a measure that would create a “right to counsel” program in Boston, building on legislation pending on Beacon Hill that would create a similar program for all tenants in the Commonwealth, “as a means to support housing stability and prevent homelessness.”

Gov. Maura Healey also proposed earmarking $3.5 million in the state budget to support a statewide right to counsel program, funds that would go toward paying for legal representation for low-income renters and small owner-occupant landlords involved in eviction proceedings, Weber, a labor attorney, said at a Wednesday City Council meeting.

“Eviction proceedings are complex procedures where you really want to have an attorney,” Weber said. “The reality is that when people are threatened with eviction, they often face a lopsided playing field.”

The numbers are “simply outrageous,” Weber said, citing Massachusetts Trial Court data that show 90.5% of landlords have legal representation during eviction proceedings in housing court, while only 3.1% of tenants who were facing eviction for non-payment had representation.

Nearly 25% of tenants lose their housing cases by default when they don’t have legal representation, meaning that they don’t show up to court or fail to file the necessary court documents on time, Weber said. That number drops to 5% when tenants are represented by an attorney, he said.

Weber’s hearing order states that since the end of the federal eviction moratorium, which barred landlords from ousting non-paying tenants during the COVID-lockdown era, evictions have increased to pre-pandemic levels.

His order cites data from the Eviction Lab at Princeton University that point to a 73.8% increase in average eviction filings per week, from 2022 to 2023 — 64 to 111 in those respective years.

In Boston, eviction filings rose by more than 40% over the past year, Weber said, a phenomenon that he largely attributes to the “housing crisis” brought about by a shortage of units and rising rents and says disproportionately impacts people of color and single mothers.

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Evictions impact a tenant’s credit score, making it more difficult for that person to get approved for a new housing unit. That contributes to housing instability, and leads to a drain on city, state and federal resources by requiring an increased reliance on shelters, mental health and other emergency services, his order states.

Tenants’ right to counsel programs, which the hearing order states have been established in at least 17 cities and four states, including New York City, do not create “new rights for either tenants or landlords,” Weber said.

“It simply seeks to make sure their existing rights are protected,” he said, later adding, “It’s been shown that providing access to counsel in housing cases protects one of the most basic needs — a right to have a roof over your head.”

In Massachusetts, defendants have the right to counsel in criminal court proceedings but not civil matters.

Councilor Liz Breadon and Council President Ruthzee Louijeune co-sponsored the hearing order, which was referred to the housing committee.

The City Council is looking to help struggling renters. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald)