New York Becomes First City to Guarantee Lawyers to Tenants Facing Eviction

Low-income New Yorkers will soon have legal protection against their landlords.

News Story (New York)

Ashley Dejean
Mother Jones
August 11, 2017
READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Tags: Civil Right to Counsel, Housing: Eviction

Organizations mentioned/involved: Legal Services NYC (LSNYC)


DETAILS

Under the new law, legal services will be provided to tenants facing eviction who make below 200 percent of the federal poverty line. A study conducted by the New York City Bar Association found that tenants in more than 80 percent of eviction cases would qualify for the legal assistance.

Another study of low-income tenants in Manhattan facing eviction from 2001 found having legal counsel reduced evictions by 77 percent in the cases observed. In 2007, about half of the families in New York City’s homeless shelters became homeless within five years of an eviction, according to intake data.