Ethan Keeps His Rent-Controlled Home of More than 30 Years

“Ethan”—a 72-year-old man living with HIV and battling stage 4 cancer—failed to respond to an eviction lawsuit his landlord filed against him. As a result, a “default judgment” was entered, ordering him and his two subtenants (one who had moved in to help Ethan with his cancer treatments) out of the rent-controlled apartment in which he’d lived for over 30 years.

Ethan came to ALRP for help, the eviction order in hand. Senior Supervising Attorney Allison Pruitt immediately started working to come up with a way to ensure Ethan could remain in his home. To complicate matters further, however, one of Ethan’s subtenants cut his own deal with the landlord, and Ethan didn’t have enough money to pay back rent.

Allison Pruitt, Senior Supervising Attorney

Allison helped Ethan secure emergency rental assistance from one of our partner organizations and was able to negotiate a new lease at the same rent along with the protections of a long-term tenancy. Director of Social Services Kim Kruse is continuing to support Ethan with wraparound services to help him retain a stable home environment.

Behind every success is a team of dedicated advocates and a larger community of people like you who believe in the rights and dignity of our clients. Thank you!