Toll-free hotline for free legal help with evictions & housing-related issues
FILE
FILE
SOUTH CAROLINA (WOLO) – The South Carolina Bar and the South Carolina Legal Services have a toll-free hotline to call if you need free legal help with evictions and other housing-related issues.
Officials say you can call 1-833-958-2266 toll-free any time.
They ask you to leave a message providing brief details about the assistance you need, along with contact information and the best time of day to receive a return call.
According to officials, those who qualify will be connected to South Carolina Legal Services for assistance or matched with South Carolina lawyers who have volunteered to provide free legal help.
Before the pandemic, legal experts say South Carolina ranked first in the nation in the number of evictions. Moratoriums preventing eviction matters from proceeding have now expired, and the number of tenets at risk of eviction is expected to rise due to rising unemployment numbers in recent months.
Betsy Goodale, director of the South Carolina Bar Pro Bono Program, says evictions can be avoided simply by having “an attorney advocate for a tenant in the eviction process.”
She continued by saying “a majority of tenants who are represented by counsel in eviction matters have a successful outcome compared to very few when unrepresented.”
Goodale says a successful outcome can include:
- Negotiating a payment plan;
- Negotiating a holdover period that gives the tenant time to find other housing; or
- Negotiating a resolution that prevents an eviction from appearing on the tenant’s record so that they are not hindered when trying to rent in the future.
For more information, please visit SC Bar’s website by clicking here.
