Legal Aid in Housing Cases
Under New York City`s Right to Attorneys Act (RTC), the DSS/HRA`s Bureau of Criminal Justice (OCJ) offers tenants facing eviction through a housing court administrative proceeding or NYCHA administrative proceeding access to free legal representation and advice from nonprofit legal advisory organizations in all five boroughs. Program coverage may also be limited to certain types of cases, such as cases where rent is not paid. If you are faced with a request from your landlord to make an eviction order against you, the OCJ can provide you with free legal services through our not-for-profit legal service provider partners under the City`s Right to Counsel Act. The right to counselling in eviction cases can help many people overcome barriers to employment and economic opportunities. It cannot guarantee that all evictions will be avoided, as many evictions are legal. However, it could ensure that a significant number of low-income people who should not be displaced do not, and that those who need to move can do so with a soft landing. Keeping families in safe and affordable housing is at the heart of our housing law practice. Our housing lawyers know how important it is to provide our clients with effective and timely redress in cases such as evictions, violations of the Housing Act, termination of housing assistance and preservation of affordable housing. The Housing Justice Alliance grew out of an initial grant from the Innovation Mission of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland. And thanks to the Housing Justice Alliance — effective July 1, 2020 — there is now a right to counsel in certain cases of eviction from Cleveland.
Learn more about this special partnership between Legal Aid and the United Way in www.FreeEvictionHelp.org We know that our approach works from our clients` own stories: “Sarah” moved into an apartment near her work and the children`s school, but quickly noticed several problems. The pipes in the kitchen sink were leaking, the front door did not lock, and cockroaches and mice had settled before them. Sarah contacted her landlord, who promised to make repairs, but never did. When her calls and complaints went unanswered, the young mother called the housing authority. In retaliation, its owner hired a lawyer and sent an eviction notice. But Sarah also had a lawyer by her side. Legal aid helped her keep her housing assistance, get $1,615 for rent plus security deposit, and move her family to another apartment nearby. In the summer of 2017, New York City became the first American city.
The city will pass a landmark “right to counseling” law that guarantees tenants subject to 200 percent of poverty policies threatened with eviction the right to legal representation. As a result, New York City is expected to generate net savings of $320 million per year. And in the first year since its launch, 84% of households represented by lawyers in court were able to avoid eviction. “You have the right to a lawyer” – everyone knows Miranda`s rights, thanks to the TV crime shows. Our Constitution guarantees access to free legal assistance when a person is accused of a serious crime and cannot afford a lawyer. However, many are unaware that there is no such constitutional right to legal representation in housing matters – even if cases lead to homelessness. In recognition of the pressing need for tenant representation before the D.C. Superior Court, we launched the Court Legal Services for Landlords and Tenants Project in 2007 to provide legal aid to courthouse tenants. In 2010, we also lobbied for the creation of the Housing Calendar, which would help substandard tenants bring claims for redress to court. In 2015, Legal Aid, in partnership with Bread for the City, Legal Counsel for the Elelderly and the DC Bar Pro Bono Center, launched the Housing Right to Counsel project, with the long-term goal of providing a guarantee of representation to tenants of subsidized apartments or low-income housing at risk of eviction.
In 2017, the DC Council approved new funding to support the prevention of evictions through legal representation. With new funding, Legal Aid has combined our existing programs into a multi-faceted eviction advocacy project that works in close coordination with other legal service providers. In 2018, Legal Aid expanded its existing affordable housing work and officially launched its Affordable Housing Preservation Project, which aims to prevent DC displacement. Residents face rising housing costs and unsafe or uninhabitable housing conditions. In 2017, Washington DC funded expanded access to a lawyer in deportation cases. In the context of growing concerns about eviction, a number of jurisdictions are considering funding expanded access to legal aid (i.e. An obligation to fund legal services) or the creation of a legal right to legal assistance. In 2017, New York City became the first city in the country to offer universal access to counseling for income-eligible tenants facing eviction (whose income is below 200% of the federal poverty line). Since New York`s universal access to lawyers program became law, other cities have passed similar laws, including Newark, Philadelphia, Santa Monica, San Francisco, and Boulder. Programs that create a right to a lawyer or provide access to a lawyer to a large number of tenants facing eviction will help level the playing field in eviction proceedings, where landlords are generally represented by lawyers because they can afford it and low-income tenants cannot. These programs can also result in savings for municipalities, such as preventing access to homeless shelters or other social services.
