NYC legal service groups say they need hundreds of millions of dollars to make the city’s “right to counsel” a reality, as thousands go unrepresented in eviction proceedings. The program guarantees that tenants facing eviction have access to an attorney.
getting kicked out of their Lower East Side building had a lawyer to challenge their eviction.
Neha Sharma, a spokesperson for the Department of Social Services, said the Adams administration could not comment on budget negotiations.
Councilmember Shaun Abreu, a former tenant lawyer leading the call for more funding, said he would not support a spending plan without at least that money included. He said the state must also step in to issue funding to pay for housing attorneys. Landlord attorneys also say facing off against another lawyer has its benefits. Tenant attorneys help streamline fair settlements, recover missed rent and make the court system run more efficiently.
“What we see coming out of cases where tenants don't have lawyers is bad deal after bad deal after bad deal, where tenants’ rights are not recognized or acknowledged in the settlement,” he said. Citywide, around a third of tenants in subsidized housing owe back rent, putting them at risk of eviction, according to an analysis last month. Tenants in market-rate apartments also face the prospect of sharp rent hikes that price them out, or landlords that decline to renew their leases. The legal groups estimate there will be around 120,000 eviction cases filed this year, with about 71,000 households eligible for full representation based on their income.
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