Report: NYC evictions decline sharply as result of new Right to Counsel law

A new report measures the effectiveness of a one-year-old NYC law that guarantees low-income tenants an attorney when facing an eviction in housing court.

News Story (New York)

Brick Underground
March 26, 2019
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Tags: Civil Right to Counsel, Housing: Eviction

Organizations mentioned/involved: Legal Services NYC (LSNYC)


DETAILS

The analysis by the Community Service Society shows that evictions declined over five times faster in NYC zip codes where the Right to Counsel law is in effect compared to zip codes without Right to Counsel that have comparable rates of poverty, eviction, and rental units.

“With 200 advocates defending tenants against eviction citywide, Legal Services NYC attorneys successfully prevent eviction in the overwhelming majority of cases we handle, and in all cases we ensure that tenant rights are upheld,” says Marika Dias, director of the Tenant Rights Coalition at Legal Services NYC.