Attorney AJ Wahl launched the landlord-tenant mediation program for Clatsop County Circuit Court in April 2024. It was a daunting endeavor that brought the court into the national spotlight – it was one of only 22 county courts across the country chosen for an Eviction Diversion Initiative grant.

The results, funded by the grant and powered by dedicated court staff and volunteers, have spoken for themselves — in the past year, over 90% of landlord-tenant cases were mediated by one of the court’s five volunteers, and 70% of those cases ended in a settlement instead of a trial.

Wahl, who serves as the program’s coordinator, said that avoiding trial through mediation not only avoids the expense of an attorney and the stress of preparing and navigating the legal system, but also ensures dignity for both parties.

“Mediation allows people to have a say in what’s happening to them,” said Wahl. “It takes some of the control back and gives them the power. Even if you know you’re going to be evicted, it removes that eviction from your record, which allows you to then have a better chance of getting another place to live.

“I think the landlord-tenant docket prior to this program was just a much scarier place, and now it’s more hopeful … a lot of tenants come to court thinking they have to move out that day, and just the relief of having a little bit more time and having control over that makes a big difference,” she said.

Wahl credits former Presiding Judge Paula Brownhill for spearheading mediation at the court; in 1999, Brownhill formed the Clatsop Local Family Law Advisory Committee and worked with Clatsop County to make the court one of the first in Oregon to require mediation in custody and parenting time cases.

“Her dedication helped us move forward in light of significant pushback,” Wahl said at an April event celebrating the program. “Many members of the bar may remember that they thought this might be a problem for their practice and their clients … . But what they learned is that not only does it help parties and the court, it also helps with better informed participants who are able to resolve their disputes effectively.”

Similarly, when the landlord-tenant mediation program first launched, Wahl saw some hesitation from landlords who worried that mediation would be an obstacle. But soon, it became apparent that the program benefited all sides.

“This is an excellent way to address these issues,” one landlord wrote in a feedback survey. “I’m a bit afraid to meet face-to-face with the tenants.”

Wahl said that mediation, especially at first, “creates that safe space to have a conversation where someone might otherwise not feel comfortable. You never know,” she said, “when you knock on someone’s door and you put their house or their living into jeopardy, how they’re going to respond to that.”

Future uncertain for some

With the uncertainty of federal funding, especially in housing initiatives, the program could be more crucial than ever. Some parties are referred to the court by Clatsop Community Action, which uses federal funds for its housing projects.

“It has become a daily guessing game regarding how we could be affected by potential freezes or cuts made at the federal level,” Clatsop Community Action Executive Director Viviana Matthews told The Astorian.

And, the National Center for State Courts, which provided the initial funding for the landlord-tenant mediation program in 2023, no longer has the federal funds to create similar programs through the Eviction Diversion Initiative.

Fortunately for Clatsop County, the grant was focused on building the initiative, and now that the program has launched successfully, it will be able to sustain itself.

“I think there was really good progress being made in the housing sector, and the loss of federal funding is impacting that, and I’m seeing that nationwide now,” Wahl said. “I saw a lot of good people that are losing their work and losing their programs across the country, and I’m just really grateful that we’re able to continue doing what we do here.”

Looking for volunteers 

With the program up and running, Wahl is determined to get more volunteers on board to ensure that every landlord-tenant dispute will have a mediator and, therefore, a much higher chance of settling.

“We’d like to figure out a way to capture all of the cases and have everybody have the option of going to mediation,” she said. “So, we’re talking through logistics, but a big part of that is recruiting more mediators.

“It always makes me so sad when, for scheduling reasons or logistical reasons, somebody doesn’t have mediation available, and I just know that they could have benefited from it.”

Volunteer mediators come from all walks of life; those currently participating have backgrounds in social work, education, law and business. Wahl focused on finding people from the community who had been tenants and landlords, and found it helpful to involve participants who don’t “speak lawyer.”

Stepping outside legal jargon has resonated well with parties; about 90% of tenants don’t have an attorney, and anywhere from 70% to 80% of landlords also are not legally represented.

“So to be able to speak in plain language and speak from life experience and bring that to the table, versus all the really technical language, is a real boon for our program,” Wahl said. “Not to say that I wouldn’t love to have more attorneys join the program if they’re so inclined, but I love that we have a more expanded background and experience.”

As the landlord-tenant mediation program has grown over the past year, it has gained state and national recognition; the Pew Research Institute and groups studying landlord-tenant disputes have visited to see the program in action. There are also ongoing proposals to replicate the initiative in other counties, and Clatsop County serves as a resource for those jurisdictions.

“We’ve become a model of excellence and a gold standard for how to navigate landlord-tenant (cases),” Wahl said. “And that’s something I’m really proud of.”