Housing Unit advocates handle more than 3,000 individual cases every year, with the aim of preventing homelessness and enabling tenants to remain in their homes. Advocates provide brief service and advice, as well as full representation in eviction cases. When facing eviction proceedings, tenants with legal representation are 90% more likely to win their court case and remain in their housing.

GBLS staff works to protect Section 8 subsidies for the most vulnerable tenants. Many recipients who have lived at the same address since prior to November,1994 and who therefore may qualify for Section 8 resources from the city to avoid displacement or find affordable housing, are often elderly or handicapped or both. Tenants experiencing difficulty in using Section 8 vouchers or state tenant-based subsidies are more likely to be tenants of color and Latino, since these constitute the majority of households receiving Section 8 assistance. By preserving affordable housing for tenants and preventing their displacement from subsidized units, GBLS' work permits tenants to stabilize their housing situation.

When representing elderly or disabled tenants GBLS often works closely with groups such as the Boston Housing Court Tenancy Preservation Project, ETHOS and Boston Aging Concerns and the Mayors Office on Elderly..

To assist those individuals who must appear in court pro se, GBLS, together with volunteers from the private bar, staffs a "Tenant Assistance Table" every Thursday at the Boston Housing Court. Trained staff greet tenants facing eviction, and explain the law and their legal rights, assist them in preparing paperwork and documentation, and coach them in courtroom procedure.

In addition, GBLS offers an onsite Housing Clinic on Mondays each week, which educates tenants about their rights in the face in of eviction proceedings, and which allows staff to assist many tenants at once to complete paperwork and legal documentation in advance of a court hearing.