Eviction Diversion Programs

 Every month, thousands of families across the country sit at kitchen tables staring at eviction notices, convinced they have no options left. What most of them do not know is that an entire system exists specifically to stop that eviction before it ever reaches a courtroom. It is called the Eviction Diversion Program, and it is quietly keeping more families housed than most people realize.

This guide breaks down exactly how these programs work, who qualifies, how to access them, and what makes the difference between a family that stays housed and one that does not. Read this carefully. The information here could save your home.

  1. What Is an Eviction Diversion Program?

At its core, an Eviction Diversion Program is a structured intervention that steps in between a landlord filing for eviction and a tenant losing their home. Rather than letting the legal process run its course and end with a family on the street, diversion programs create a space for resolution — through financial assistance, mediation, legal support, or all three at once.

These programs operate on a simple but powerful premise: eviction is expensive, traumatic, and rarely in anyone's best long-term interest. Landlords lose rental income during vacancy, face legal fees, and deal with the cost of finding new tenants. Tenants lose stable housing, face credit damage, and often end up in emergency shelter systems that cost governments far more than prevention would have. Eviction diversion programs short-circuit that cycle before it starts.

How They Differ from Traditional Eviction Proceedings

In a traditional eviction proceeding, a landlord files a complaint with the court, the tenant receives notice, both parties appear before a judge, and a judgment is entered. If the tenant loses, a sheriff's notice follows and removal is ordered. This process moves quickly, leaves little room for negotiation, and creates a public court record that follows tenants for years and makes finding future housing dramatically harder.

An Eviction Diversion Program interrupts this process early. Some programs step in before a court filing is ever made. Others operate inside the courthouse, connecting tenants and landlords with mediators and emergency funds the moment they appear on a docket. The goal is the same in every case — reach an agreement that keeps the tenant housed and the landlord whole without a formal judgment entering the record.

Who Runs These Programs

Eviction diversion programs are operated by a range of organizations and agencies depending on the city or state. Some are administered directly by local courts. Others are run by nonprofit housing organizations, community action agencies, legal aid societies, or state housing finance agencies. Many operate through partnerships between several of these entities, pooling resources to cover different aspects of the diversion process — someone to provide the money, someone to provide the legal help, and someone to facilitate the conversation between tenant and landlord.

  1. The History and Growth of Eviction Diversion Programs

Understanding where these programs came from helps explain why they work and why more communities are investing in them.

Early Models and Pilot Programs

Eviction diversion as a formal concept gained traction in the early 2010s, when researchers and housing advocates began documenting the true downstream costs of eviction at scale. Sociologist Matthew Desmond's landmark research on eviction, which eventually led to his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, helped shift the public conversation from treating eviction as a private landlord-tenant dispute to recognizing it as a public health and housing stability crisis.

Early pilot programs in cities like Philadelphia, Louisville, and Cleveland demonstrated that connecting tenants with legal representation alone — even without direct financial assistance — dramatically reduced the rate of eviction judgments. When mediators were added to that equation and emergency rental funds became available, outcomes improved further still.

The Pandemic as a Turning Point

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the development of eviction diversion infrastructure in ways that would have been difficult to imagine beforehand. When federal eviction moratoriums ended and tens of millions of households faced accumulated rent debt, governments at every level recognized that the court system alone could not absorb what was coming. Billions of dollars in Emergency Rental Assistance were deployed, and the most effective communities built Eviction Diversion Programs specifically designed to route that money quickly and keep families housed.

Many of the programs that launched or expanded during the pandemic have since been maintained with state and local funding, because the evidence of their effectiveness became impossible to ignore.

The Lasting Infrastructure

What the pandemic left behind, in housing terms, was a more robust network of diversion infrastructure than had ever existed before. Court-based diversion programs became standard in many jurisdictions. Landlord-tenant mediation panels were formalized. Legal aid organizations expanded their capacity. And the data collected during those years gave program administrators the evidence they needed to make the case for sustained funding. The Eviction Diversion Program model has moved from emergency response to established practice in cities and states across the country.

  1. How Eviction Diversion Programs Actually Work

The mechanics of diversion vary by location, but the core components are consistent enough to describe in a way that applies broadly.

The Typical Pathway

  1. A landlord files an eviction notice or, in some programs, contacts a diversion hotline before filing.
  2. The tenant receives information about available diversion resources, either through the court, a community organization, or the landlord themselves.
  3. The tenant contacts the diversion program and begins an intake process to determine eligibility and available assistance.
  4. A case manager, mediator, or housing counselor facilitates communication between the tenant and landlord.
  5. If financial assistance is available and applicable, funds are paid directly to the landlord to cover arrears.
  6. Both parties reach an agreement — either to continue the tenancy or to negotiate a voluntary, undamaged departure — and the eviction proceeding is withdrawn or dismissed.

The Role of Emergency Rental Assistance

Financial assistance is the backbone of most Eviction Diversion Programs. When a tenant falls behind on rent because of job loss, a medical emergency, or another unexpected hardship, the most direct solution is to cover the gap. Many diversion programs maintain emergency rental assistance funds that can pay several months of past-due rent directly to the landlord, eliminating the core reason for the eviction in the first place.

The key feature of these funds is speed. Traditional rental assistance programs can take weeks or months to process applications. Eviction diversion funds are specifically structured for rapid deployment — often disbursing within days — because a family facing a court date does not have the luxury of a lengthy waiting period.

The Role of Mediation

Money alone does not always solve the underlying tension in a landlord-tenant relationship. Mediation gives both parties a structured space to discuss their concerns, clarify expectations, and reach an agreement they both find acceptable. A trained mediator does not take sides. Their job is to keep the conversation productive and help both parties identify solutions that work for everyone.

Mediation is particularly valuable in cases where the eviction involves lease violations, property disputes, or communication breakdowns rather than pure rent nonpayment. In these situations, financial assistance would not address the root problem, but a facilitated conversation often can.

The Role of Legal Aid

For many tenants, the biggest disadvantage they face in eviction proceedings is simply not knowing their rights. Landlords in eviction court are frequently represented by attorneys who handle these cases professionally and regularly. Tenants often show up alone, unprepared, and unaware of the defenses available to them.

Legal aid attorneys and tenant advocates connected to diversion programs level that playing field. They can identify procedural errors in the eviction filing, assert tenant rights that the landlord may have violated, negotiate directly with landlord attorneys, and advise tenants on what agreements are in their best interest to sign. Even a single conversation with a legal aid attorney before a court appearance can change the outcome of an eviction case entirely.

  1. Who Qualifies for an Eviction Diversion Program?

Eligibility varies by program and location, but the following factors are commonly used to determine who can access diversion services.

Income-Based Eligibility

Most programs target households at or below a certain percentage of the Area Median Income, typically between 50 and 80 percent. This income threshold ensures that limited resources go to the households with the least capacity to resolve the situation on their own. Some programs use a tiered structure, with deeper assistance reserved for the lowest-income households.

Stage of the Eviction Process

Some programs only accept cases at specific stages of the eviction process. Court-based programs typically engage tenants who already have a hearing date. Pre-filing programs can engage households the moment a landlord issues a pay-or-quit notice, before any court involvement at all. Knowing which stage of the process you are in helps determine which programs you are eligible for and how quickly you need to act.

Type of Tenancy

Most Eviction Diversion Programs serve tenants in private market rental housing — apartments, houses, and mobile homes rented from private landlords. Some programs also serve tenants in subsidized housing, though these cases sometimes involve additional layers of federal regulation that affect how the diversion process works. Homeowners facing foreclosure are generally not served by eviction diversion programs, though separate foreclosure prevention programs may be available.

Reason for Eviction

Programs most commonly serve tenants facing eviction for nonpayment of rent, because this is the most common eviction type and the one most amenable to financial intervention. Some programs also assist with evictions based on lease violations, particularly minor or curable violations where a corrective agreement is possible. Evictions based on criminal activity, serious property damage, or other significant lease breaches are less commonly served, though legal aid resources are often still available in these situations.

  1. The Benefits for Tenants and Landlords Alike

One of the most compelling aspects of the eviction diversion model is that it genuinely serves both sides of the landlord-tenant relationship, not just the tenant.

What Tenants Gain

  1. Preservation of stable housing, which is foundational to employment, children's education, health, and overall wellbeing.
  2. Avoidance of an eviction record, which can make finding future rental housing extremely difficult for years.
  3. Access to legal representation and advocacy that many tenants could not otherwise afford.
  4. A structured process that gives them a voice and time to resolve the situation rather than simply being removed.
  5. Connection to other support services — employment assistance, utility help, food assistance — that address the broader circumstances that led to the housing crisis.
  6. Reduced stress and trauma for children and other household members who would otherwise experience displacement.

What Landlords Gain

  1. Recovery of past-due rent without the cost and delay of court proceedings.
  2. Avoidance of the legal fees, court costs, and time investment that formal eviction requires.
  3. Continued occupancy by a tenant who, with their arrears cleared, is positioned to pay going forward.
  4. A functioning relationship with their tenant rather than an adversarial legal dispute.
  5. Faster resolution than the court process typically provides, meaning less time with an income-producing property in limbo.

What Communities Gain

When eviction diversion works, the ripple effects extend well beyond the individual household. Children stay in their schools. Parents keep their jobs because their commute and home base remain stable. Emergency shelters, which are enormously expensive to operate and often insufficient in supply, face less pressure. Public health systems see fewer of the stress-related health consequences that follow displacement. And the social fabric of neighborhoods remains more intact when families are not constantly being displaced and replaced.

  1. Finding an Eviction Diversion Program in Your Area

Knowing these programs exist is only useful if you know how to find and access them. Here is a practical guide to locating the right resources.

Where to Start

  1. Contact your local courthouse directly and ask whether a diversion or mediation program operates there. Many courts now have housing specialists or resource coordinators whose entire job is connecting tenants with available help.
  2. Search for your local legal aid organization. Every region of the country has at least one nonprofit legal aid provider that handles housing cases. Many have dedicated hotlines for eviction emergencies.
  3. Call 211, the national social services helpline. Operators can connect you with local rental assistance programs, housing counselors, and eviction diversion resources specific to your zip code.
  4. Contact your city or county housing department. Many local governments administer their own eviction diversion funds or can direct you to the programs they fund through nonprofit partners.
  5. Reach out to community action agencies in your area. These organizations, which exist in virtually every county in the country, often serve as the administrative backbone of Eviction Diversion Programs and maintain lists of available resources.

What to Have Ready When You Call

  1. Your lease agreement or rental contract
  2. Any written notices you have received from your landlord, including pay-or-quit notices or court summons
  3. Documentation of your current income and any changes in income that contributed to the arrears
  4. Records of any rent payments you have made during the period in question
  5. Information about household size, because many programs use this alongside income to determine assistance levels

Time Is a Critical Factor

The single most important thing to understand about accessing an Eviction Diversion Program is that you should reach out the moment you receive any notice from your landlord — not after you receive a court date, not after the hearing, but immediately. Programs have far more options available when they engage early. Once a judgment has been entered against a tenant, the ability to intervene shrinks dramatically.

  1. What Happens If the Diversion Process Does Not Reach an Agreement

Diversion is not a guarantee of staying housed. It is a structured opportunity to reach an agreement, and agreements require both parties to participate in good faith. There are circumstances where diversion does not result in the tenant remaining in the home, and it is important to understand what happens in those situations.

Voluntary Move-Out Agreements

In some cases, the most realistic outcome of the diversion process is an agreement for the tenant to vacate voluntarily within a specified period, in exchange for the landlord withdrawing the eviction filing and agreeing not to pursue a judgment. This arrangement is sometimes called a cash-for-keys agreement or a voluntary departure agreement.

While this outcome means the tenant does leave the property, it carries significant advantages over a formal eviction judgment. There is no court record. The tenant's rental history remains cleaner. And a structured timeline gives them time to find alternative housing rather than being removed suddenly by law enforcement.

Connecting to Other Housing Resources

When diversion does not result in the tenant staying in their current home, programs typically connect them with other housing resources — rapid rehousing programs, housing search assistance, transitional housing, or emergency shelter with a pathway to permanent housing. The goal of a well-designed Eviction Diversion Program is not only to preserve current tenancy when possible but to ensure that any transition happens in a managed, dignified way rather than as a sudden crisis.

Understanding Your Rights Even in Difficult Situations

Even when eviction cannot be stopped, tenants have rights that must be respected throughout the process. Landlords cannot remove belongings, change locks, or shut off utilities as a means of forcing a tenant out outside of a formal legal process. If your landlord attempts any of these actions, contact legal aid immediately. These actions are illegal in virtually every jurisdiction and can result in significant penalties for the landlord.

  1. The Data Behind Eviction Diversion Programs

For those who want more than anecdotal evidence, the research supporting these programs is substantial and growing.

What the Numbers Show

Studies of court-based eviction diversion programs consistently show that when tenants have access to legal representation, the rate of eviction judgments drops by 50 percent or more in many jurisdictions. When emergency rental assistance is added to that equation, preservation rates rise further. Programs in cities including Louisville, Philadelphia, and New York have published outcome data showing that the overwhelming majority of households who fully engage with diversion services remain housed at the conclusion of the process.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

Research consistently finds that preventing an eviction costs a fraction of what addressing its consequences costs. Emergency shelter placements, school disruption, healthcare utilization related to housing instability, and the administrative costs of the court process itself all add up to figures that dwarf the cost of a month or two of emergency rental assistance. Cities that have invested in robust diversion infrastructure have documented savings across multiple public systems as a result.

The Case for Continued Investment

The evidence base for Eviction Diversion Programs has reached a point where it is difficult to argue against them on cost grounds. The remaining barriers to expansion are largely administrative and political — program design, funding allocation, landlord buy-in, and community awareness. Advocates, researchers, and program administrators continue to push for broader implementation because the data supports it clearly.

  1. How Landlords Can Engage with Eviction Diversion Programs

Eviction diversion is sometimes perceived as a tenant-only benefit, but landlords who engage with these programs often come out ahead of those who proceed directly to formal eviction.

Why Landlord Participation Matters

An Eviction Diversion Program can only work if landlords agree to participate. In many programs, participation is voluntary for both parties. Landlords who engage with the process typically receive their past-due rent faster than the formal court process would allow, avoid the expense of legal fees, and keep an established tenant rather than facing the vacancy costs and uncertainty of finding a new one.

What Landlords Should Know Before Filing

Before initiating a formal eviction proceeding, landlords in communities with active diversion programs are increasingly encouraged — and in some places required — to contact the program first. Many programs have landlord liaisons specifically available to explain how the process works, what assistance might be available to cover the tenant's arrears, and how quickly resolution can realistically occur.

Building a Sustainable Landlord-Tenant Relationship

Landlords who engage with diversion programs frequently report that the process helped them understand factors affecting their tenants that they had not been aware of — a job loss, a medical emergency, a family crisis — that put the arrears in a different context. This understanding does not obligate any landlord to accept nonpayment indefinitely, but it does often change the tenor of the relationship in ways that lead to more durable agreements and better long-term outcomes for everyone involved.

  1. The Future of Eviction Diversion Programs

The eviction diversion model has proven its value. The question now is not whether it works but how to extend it to every community that needs it.

Where Expansion Is Happening

States including Virginia, Minnesota, and Michigan have invested significantly in statewide eviction diversion infrastructure in recent years, building systems that connect local programs, standardize practices, and ensure that resources are available across urban, suburban, and rural communities. These state-level efforts are important because eviction is not only an urban phenomenon — rural renters face the same risks with even fewer resources traditionally available to them.

The Push for Universal Right to Counsel

One of the most active fronts in housing stability policy is the push for universal right to counsel in eviction proceedings — the guarantee that every tenant facing eviction will have access to a lawyer. Cities including New York, San Francisco, and Cleveland have passed legislation establishing this right in various forms. As more cities adopt similar policies, the legal component of Eviction Diversion Programs becomes institutionalized rather than dependent on nonprofit capacity and grant funding.

What Advocates Are Calling For

Housing advocates across the country continue to call for increased investment in prevention-focused housing policy, of which eviction diversion is a central piece. Their asks are consistent: adequate and sustained funding for emergency rental assistance, universal access to legal representation in housing court, pre-filing diversion requirements that engage both parties before the court system becomes involved, and data collection systems that track long-term outcomes rather than just immediate case resolution.

Final Thoughts

An eviction notice is terrifying. For many families, it feels like the end of stability — a cliff edge with nothing visible below. But the Eviction Diversion Program model exists precisely to interrupt that fall, to create space between crisis and displacement, and to give working people a real shot at staying in their homes.

If you are facing eviction, the most important thing you can do is act immediately. Call your courthouse. Call 211. Call a legal aid organization. Do not wait until the hearing date and do not assume the situation is hopeless. Programs exist specifically for people in your position, staffed by people whose entire professional purpose is to help you stay housed.