All about the right to counsel for evictions in NYC

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03/07/2024, Legislation, Housing - Evictions

UPDATE: Year 6 report demonstrates RTC's strength

 

In its latest report covering FY23, the NYC Office of Civil Justice outlined that while eviction filings increased 83% from the prior year, and that "continued capacity concerns meant that providers frequently offered legal advice to tenants who were otherwise eligible for full representation", they also found that "In those Housing Court eviction and NYCHA termination cases with reported resolutions in FY2023, 84% of households represented in court by lawyers were able to remain in their homes, preserving tenancies and promoting the preservation of affordable housing and neighborhood stability."

 

UPDATE: Year 5 (FY22) report shows program's continued impact

 

The Office of Civil Justice has released Universal Access to Legal Services: A Report on Year Five of Implementation in New York City, which looks at NYC's eviction right to counsel program.  Key points from the report include:

 

  • While evictions have not yet reached pre-pandemic levels, they rose by 20% from the prior year.
  • Assistance was provided to 92,400 New Yorkers in approximately 41,800 households across New York City.  Tenants in rent-regulated housing comprised more than half of the clients.
  • "Although filings and calendars were not at pre-pandemic levels, UA citywide expansion, vestiges of COVID-19, and the 'Great Resignation', meant that, for the first time in the program’s history, providers did not always appear at housing court. Despite these challenges, more than 63of tenants who appeared in Housing Court for eviction cases in the fourth quarter of FY2022 were represented by attorneys in court." 
  • "OCJ continued to work closely with the New York City Housing Court and the nonprofit legal providers who comprise OCJ’s Anti-Harassment and Tenant Protection (AHTP) program to ensure that tenants in emergency cases—illegal lockouts and HP actions for critical repairs —are afforded access to free legal services."
  • 78% of represented households in eviction proceedings, and 87% facing administrative termination of their tenancy by NYCHA, remained in their homes.
  • Executions evicted by marshals have declined 41% since 2013 (the City began its investment in tenant representation in 2014). 

 

 

UPDATE: NYC expands RTC to all seniors regardless of income

 

As a result of the passage of INT-673, all senior citizens in New York City are entitled to counsel when facing eviction, regardless of their income level. 

 

Update: RTCNYC issues FAQ on tenants not getting attorneys

 

The Right to Counsel NYC Coalition has written a Frequently Asked Questions doc that explains the recent problem of courts proceeding with eviction cases even where tenants do not have a lawyer to which they are entitled. 

 

Update: another study breaks down success of RTC program

 

A working paper authored by the Center for Health and Wellbeing at Princeton University and published in the National Bureau of Economic Research examined NYC's eviction right to counsel from 2016-2019 and made the following key findings: 

 

  • "UA zip codes see fewer cases with a judgment due to a settlement, and fewer cases that are forfeited by a tenant failure to appear. The number of days between a case filing and a judgment is also longer."

       

    - "[R]epresentation has very large effects on the affected cases, reducing the probability of a possessory judgment by 38.5 percentage points, the log judgment amount by 2.226, and the probability of a warrant being issued by 38.1 percentage points."

     

    - "[R]epresentation reduces the probability that the judgment reflects a settlement (the most common basis for a judgment), which may reflect a diminution in self-represented tenants being strong-armed by landlords’ attorneys before appearing before a judge. Tenant representation also reduces the probability that a judgment is reached because the tenant 'failed to answer' the petition or 'failed to appear' in court.'"

     

    - "[T]enant representation via the UA program reduced the probability of a possessory judgment by 62 percent, reduced the award amount by 85 percent, reduced the probability of a warrant being issued by 72 percent, and reduced the probability of a warrant being executed by 62 percent (though this last estimate is not statistically significant)."

      

    - "[W]hile representation has an effect in both relatively poor and less poor places, the biggest impacts of UA representation are in the places with above-median poverty rates."

 

Update: latest report shows continued success of RTC program

 

The latest report from the NYC Office of Civil Justice finds that 84% of represented tenants were able to remain in their homes.  It also reported that "100 percent of tenants with calendared eviction cases had access to legal services, and 71 percent of tenants who appeared in Housing Court had full representation by attorneys – nearly double the pre-pandemic rate of 38 percent, and an exponential increase over the 1 percent of tenants who had lawyers in 2013." The program is funded through $166 million of NYC general revenue.  Check out the City's press release.

 

Update: City expands right to counsel law

 

The New York City Council passed two bills expanding the right to counsel, one of which makes the right applicable to the entire City immediately (rather than being rolled out over a longer period) and the other requires the City to work with tenant organizing groups on an outreach campaign. 

 

Update: documentary shows how the right to counsel was achieved

 

A new documentary, Our Rights! Our Power!  The Right To Counsel (RTC) Campaign To Fight Evictions in NYC, shows how tenant organizers in New York City built a powerful and winning campaign to make the City the first in the nation to provide a right to counsel for tenants.

 

Update: Latest annual report on right to counsel continues to show massive success

 

The Year Three report by the NYC Office of Civil Justice highlightx the significant impact of the city's rollout of the right to counsel.  Notably, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and a partial moratorium on evictions in the City, the right to counsel model shifted to handle all lockouts, requests for emergency repairs, and pre-pandemic cases, and was able to represent all tenants without counsel.  The project also reached out to 14,000 households that had un-executed eviction warrants in 2020 in order to offer representation.  

 

Some of the key points from the report:

 

  • 38% of tenants are now represented in housing court (up from 32% last year), and 69% of NYCHA tenants were represented in administrative termination of tenancy proceedings.  There are 25 zip codes that have been reached so far as part of the phased-in rollout; 
  • Evictions by marshals declined another 15% since last year, and have declined 41% since 2013 when funding for tenant representation first began;
  • 86% of represented tenants in housing courts were able to remain in their homes, and 98% of tenants represented in administrative termination of tenancy proceedings were allowed to remain.
  • The City invested $117 million in FY20 and has $131 million allocated for FY21.

 

Update: Annual report on right to counsel shows huge drop in evictions, eviction filings

 

The latest report by the NYC Office of Civil Justice contains some dramatic findings on the impact of the city's rollout of the right to counsel:

 

  • Representation rose from 1% in 2013 to 38% in 2019 (the right is being rolled out over 5 years), which in 2019 included 32,000 households who were facing eviction in Housing Court or NYC Housing Authority administrative proceedings;
  • Evictions have dropped 41% overall since 2013, including a 15% drop in 2019 alone;
  • Eviction filings have dropped by 30% since 2013, including a 20% drop in 2019 alone.
  • Default judgments have dropped 34% since 2013;
  • Requests by tenants to bring their cases back to the Housing Court calendar on an emergency basis in order to dispute a judgment, request additional time, or raise legal issues previously not addressed have dropped by 38%, because tenant representation is ensuring these issues are addressed right at the start of the case;
  • Overall, 84% of tenants who were represented by counsel remained in their homes.

 

Update: City Council holds hearing on expanding RTC law

 

On February 24, 2020, the NYC Council had a hearing on two bills to expand the right to counsel for tenants facing eviction: Intro 1529 would require the city to work with tenant organizers that could help to ensure the right is effectively implemented by making sure tenants know and understand their rights, while Intro 1104 would expand the income threshold for eligibility to 400% of the federal poverty level while also covering termination of housing subsidies.  Testimony at the hearing revealed that the default rate for evictions (i.e., the rate at which tenants fail to show up for housing court) has dropped by roughly 35% from 2016 to 2019.

 

The NCCRC submitted testimony in favor of the bills.  Media coverage of the hearing was provided by amny and Curbed New York

 

Update: Report shows success of new RTC law

 

The Community Service Society of NY released a report about the impact of the existing RTC law in NYC (32% of the City now has RTC, and there’s been an overall 30% drop in the eviction rate) as well as where evictions are happening in the city as correlated by race and poverty.  The Real Deal and The City have more on the report.  The report also links to the 2019 report by Community Action for Safe Apartments that found more than half of those in RTC zip codes didn’t know they had a right to counsel until they arrived in housing court, demonstrating the need for additional outreach. 

 

Additionally, Next City covered how evictions are down in NYC thanks to the right to counsel law, while City Limits examined how NYC’s success has benefited and driven the right to counsel movement across the country.

 

Update: new rent regulations plus right to counsel cause 20% eviction decline

 

amny and the NY Daily News report on how the eviction rate in NYC is down nearly 20% in the six months since the state passed laws strengthening rent regulation, and advocates attribute the decline to a combination of those new laws plus the expanding right to counsel for tenants in the city.

 

Update: Report on 2 years of right to counsel shows dramatic success

 

NYC's Office of Civil Justice has released their report analyzing the impact of the right to counsel in the first several years.  Overall, it finds that 84 percent of represented tenants are remaining in their homes, and the eviction rate has declined by over 30 percent since implementation began.  Moreover, eviction filings dropped 6 percent from 2018 to 2019 and have dropped 15 percent since the City started funding expanded representation in 2013.

 

Update: Advocates look to expand RTC law

 

Not content with achieving the first housing right to counsel in the county, NYC advocates have worked with Council member Mark Levine on introduction of RTC 2.0, which would expand eligibility for appointed counsel from 200% of the federal poverty level to 400% and would also include hearings at some non-housing court venues.  The New York Law Journal and AM New York have more.

 

Advocates have also introduced a bill that would provide funding for tenant organizing groups to better educate tenants on their rights under the new law.

 

Update: NYC court vacates tenant stipulation because tenant improperly denied counsel

 

In 2247 Webster Ave. HDFC v Galarce, 2019 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 29 (N.Y. Civ. Ct. 2019), a trial court found that a tenant was improperly deprived of her right to appointed counsel in an eviction due to a clerical error.  The court recounted the history of Intro 214 as well as its early success and some of the statistics about the effectiveness of attorneys, then vacated the stipulation the tenant had entered into because it said it could not find that representation would not have made a difference.  The court stated:

 

Indeed, to hold Respondent to this stipulation in the context of the Universal Access to Counsel law would take the case out of the due and ordinary course of today's Housing Court where Respondent was entitled to litigate her case with the benefit of full representation by an attorney. 

 

Vacatur of the stipulation supports the integrity and balance that the Office of Court Justice is charged by law with bringing to litigation in Housing Court. In her unrefuted affidavit, Respondent states that, after speaking with an attorney for the Petitioner, she was left with the impression that she "had to leave the apartment" and that she signed the agreement offered by the Petitioner's attorney because she felt she "didn't have a choice," and might find herself in "more trouble" if she did not sign the stipulation. (Aff of Respondent at 8-9.) This is precisely the type of scenario described by Hon. Jean Schneider in her interview for the New York Law Journal article. As the 144 Woodruff Corp. v Lacrete court opined, "this court cannot permit itself the illusion, comforting though it might be but which our own Chief Administrators have rejected, that settlements in Housing Court are generally the result of arms length transactions between parties of equal bargaining power."

 

Update: Studies and reports look at first year of implementation

 

A new policy brief by the Furman Center takes a look at how implementation of NYC’s eviction right to counsel is going, in order to provide useful information to other jurisdictions considering a similar right to counsel.  To do this evaluation, they say, "We visited Housing Court facilities across the city, watched how UAC is working, and observed how it is changing practices in those courts. We spoke with members of the judiciary, representatives from legal services providers participating in the UAC program, members of the landlords’ bar, tenant organizers, and other tenant advocates about the challenges and opportunities that implementing the program has posed. To better understand the challenges tenants face and their views about the need for counsel, we interviewed more than 100 tenants, most of whom appeared in Housing Court without counsel and did not live in the zip codes currently covered by the UAC program."  City Limits has more on the release of the report.

 

Additionally, the Community Service Society of NY examined the first year data and found that evictions occurred five times less frequently in the zip codes implementing a right to counsel.  Crain's New York Business and The Real Deal covered this analysis. 

 

Councilmembers Levine and Gibson issued a memo to the Chief Judge urging the courts to address some of the implementation issues that have come up in the first year of the right to counsel.  The recommendations in the memo came from the Right to Counsel NYC Coalition.


Finally, NPR in both an audio segment and written piece, talked to tenants affected by the new right to counsel as well as the drop in eviction rates in zip codes that have the new right to counsel.

 

Update: NYC’s 1st year of right to counsel kept 84% of tenants in homes

 

The NYC Office of Civil Justice has released its 2018 report detailing the first full year of implementation of the right to counsel in eviction cases.  And it has some incredibly impressive numbers:

 
  • 84 percent of all tenants who were provided an attorney in Housing Court remained in their homes (21,955 New Yorkers representing 7,847 households).  It is especially notable that the 84 percent figure exceeds the 77 percent figure estimated by the NYC Independent Budget Office.  Moreover, 97 percent of those receiving legal services for NYCHA administrative termination of tenancy were able to remain in their homes.  These results demonstrate the incredible effectiveness of a right to counsel in preserving housing stability.  In considering the reasons for that effectiveness, it is meaningful that nearly three-quarters of those receiving legal assistance for Housing Court obtained full representation.
  • Evictions conducted by City Marshalls have dropped by 27 percent overall since 2013, and have declined steadily in all but one year since then;
  • 30 percent of all tenants are now represented by an attorney; 
  • The right to counsel is reaching those most in need: the largest represented group was those making less than 50 percent of the federal poverty level, and half of the legal services recipients were receiving public benefits. 

 

The 2018 report release was covered by WNYC, Next CityGothamist, Nonprofit Quarterly, and The Real Deal.

 

Update: Judges testify that efficiency improving with new law

 

A number of NYC judges testified that the new right to counsel law has had a positive impact on court efficiency and fairness.  Judge Jean Schneider, the citywide supervising judge of the New York City Housing Court, testified that "our court is improving by leaps and bounds."  The hearings were covered by the NY Law Journal.

 

Update: Intro 214-b is now law!

 

On July 20, 2017, Intro 214-b was approved by the City Council, and the Mayor signed the bill on August 11, 2017.  Read a piece in City and State New York from bill sponsor Mark Levine, or quotes from the NYC Council Progressive Caucus and City officials.  You can also see video clips of the City Council's vote and the celebratory event at the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness's Facebook page

 

The bill's passage has been covered nationally by MarketplaceThe NationSlateMother JonesBaltimore SunCityLabHousingWire, Vice, and Fast Company, and locally by the NY Daily News, Village VoiceNY 1, Gotham GazetteHarlem World,New York Amsterdam NewsNY Law Journal (subscription required), 6sqftTown & VillageDNA Info New York, GlobeStCurbed NY, and The Uptowner.

 

Update: Intro 214 will become law!

 

Read the NCCRC's press release, the release from the Right to Counsel NYC Coalition, and Mayor de Blasio's State of the City Address.

 

On February 12, 2017, Mayor de Blasio announced that the City will be providing "universal access" to counsel for low-income people in housing court,  in effect enacting Intro 214-a.   A day later, In his State of the City address in February 2017, Mayor de Blasio explained:  

 

If you’re a hard working New Yorker, if you’re someone struggling to make ends meet, if you’re someone who needs legal help, you can’t afford it, and you make anywhere up to $50,000 a year for family of four, you will now be guaranteed a lawyer to go with you into housing court.   If you’re facing illegal eviction, you get a lawyer. If you’re facing illegal over charge of rent you get a lawyer. If you’re facing illegal harassment you get a lawyer. 

 

This will happen by increasing the City's eviction legal aid spending by $93 million, which will occur over 5 years.  In doing so, NYC will become the first jurisdiction in the country to provide a right to counsel in housing cases, making this an enormous step forward for the civil right to counsel movement.

The news has been covered by the NY TimesPolitico, Next City (Feb. 16), Next City (Feb. 21), the NY Daily News, the Gothamist, NY NewsdayMetro, City Limits, the NY Observer, Fox 5 NY, New York YIMBY, News 12 The Bronx (video), The Norwood News, The New York Amsterdam News, AM New YorkThe Real Deal, Greenline, the Law Professors Network Human Rights at Home Blog, and the Caribbean Life News.

 

You can also read press releases by NCCRC, The City of New YorkIntro 214-a sponsor Mark Levine, the Right to Counsel NYC Coalition, the Bronx Borough President, and AARP New York.

 

UPDATE: Press Conference Displays Thousands of Postcards in Support of Intro 214-a

 

 

 

On December 13, 2016, the Right to Counsel NYC Coalition held a press conference at which over 7,000 postcards and a letter from almost 100 faith leaders calling for the passage of Intro 214-a were delivered to the Mayor and the NYC Council Speaker.  The press conference was covered by Metro New York and NY1 Noticias.

 

UPDATE: New York City Council Has First Hearing on Intro 214-a

 

The City Council hearing featured over 80 people testifying in support of the bill, including former Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, various borough presidents, and the NYC Bar Association.  It was preceded by a press conference, pictured below.  The press conference and hearing were covered by the NY TimesVillage VoiceWall Street JournalNew York Law JournalWYNC, Metro New York, Gothamist, Huffington Post, and Above the Law.  A video of the hearing is now available.

 

Press conference 1   Hearing chamber

 

UPDATE: NY Times Editorial Board supports Intro 214-a

 

The NY Times Editorial Board has come out in support of a right to counsel in housing cases, and called on the City to enact Intro 214-a.

 

UPDATE: City's Office of Civil Justice Releases Report Supporting 214-A

 

The Office of Civil Justice, created by the City Council and Mayor de Blasio, released its first-ever annual report in August 2016.  It found that only about one percent of tenants in housing court facing eviction had lawyers in 2013, compared to 27 percent now.  In the same period that housing representation increased so dramatically, evictions handled by city marshals dropped 24 percent.  The NY Observer has more about the report and Mayor de Blasio's response, and a New York State real estate blog features responses to the report from various NYC government officials.

 

UPDATE: Public Hearing on Intro 214-a Draws Hundreds

 

On December 5, 2014, a coalition of NYC groups held an event called "Housing Justice: A Public Forum on New Yorkers' Right to Counsel in Eviction Proceedings", in support of Intro 214 (there is a video of the event).  

 

NYC right to counsel in housing Dec 5 2014 event 1

 

A large crowd listens after Chief Judge Lippman opened the event

 

Attended by hundreds of attorneys, advocates, New York City officials, judges, and community members, the event featured panels of city/county/state bar leaders, housing experts, right to counsel specialists, and affected community members.  The event was covered by media outlets Newsweek, Truthout, Capital New York, and The New York Observer

 

NYC right to counsel in housing Dec 5 2014 event 2  NYC right to counsel in housing Dec 5 2014 event 3

 

A view from the back, and the press conference

 

Introduction

 

The Beginning

 

In 2014, New York City Council member Mark Levine filed a bill (Intro 214) that would guarantee a right to counsel for low-income individuals in eviction and foreclosure proceedings.  The bill was re-filed in 2015 (Intro 214-A) in order to raise the eligibility level to 200% of the poverty level.  The bill has a veto-proof majority of the City Council signed on to the bill, and is awaiting the scheduling of a hearing in 2016.

 

The Bill Gains Support and Public Awareness

 

Noting the incredible disparity in representation between landlords and tenants, the New York City Bar Association endorsed Intro 214 and urged the legislature to increase the eligiblity income cap from 125% of the federal poverty level to 200% (which happened when Intro 214-A was introduced).   You can read the full NYC Bar report in support of the legislation. 

 

While New York City Mayor de Blasio has increased funding substantially for eviction defense, a New York Times article described his intention to become more "aggressive" on homelessness by taking such actions as clearing homelessness encampments.  In response, NCCRC Coordinator John Pollock wrote a letter to the NY TImes urging Mayor de Blasio to rethink this approach and instead support Intro 214-A.  The letter pointed out that such a bill would be a more permanent, humane, and cost effective solution to the homelessness problem. 

 

Cost Estimates

 

The NYC Independent Budget Office released a report estimating the cost of providing a right to counsel as $100-200 million.  Although the report factored in millions of dollars in shelter savings, it failed to consider potentially substantial savings from other areas, such as jails/prisons, hospitals, and affordable housing construction.  The report was immediately critiqued by advocates, and the disagreement over costs was covered by both Newsweek and the New York Times, while two committees of the New York City Bar have supported the legislation and pointed to the likely cost savings.

 

In April 2016, an independent report by commissioned by the New York City Bar Association and done by Stout concluded that rather than costing the City money, the bill would actually save $320 million annually through reducing shelter costs, avoiding the loss of affordable units, and preventing certain expenses (such as law enforcement and emergency medical care) associated with homelessness.  Bloomberg covered the release of the report.

 

Other Information

 

You can read more about the bill in our comprehensive bibliography, and check out a video of tenants discussing the issue.  You can also see a flyer with a description of the Dec 5 event's speakers and panels.  And you can check out the website of the Right to Counsel NYC Coalition.

Appointment of Counsel: categorical Qualified: yes

 

Nccrc_involvement_icon

NCCRC helped assemble the NYC coalition, spoke at the Dec 5 event, and worked on the SRR report.