Public Interest, Real Estate

The Right To An Attorney... In Housing Court

A potentially landmark move for social justice.

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Eviction notice formWhile the right to a criminal defense attorney is under assault around the country and public defenders have to enlist state governors to handle matters, New York is deliberating an expansion of the right to legal counsel for poor tenants facing eviction. The New York Times reports:

On Monday, the City Council held a hearing on a bill that would make New York City the first jurisdiction in the country to guarantee lawyers for any low-income residents facing eviction. Under the measure, tenants who make below 200 percent of the federal poverty line would qualify. (For a single person, the cutoff would be $23,540; for a family of four, it would be $48,500.)

It’s not as though New York hasn’t been spending to help people find lawyers before now. In fact, the de Blasio administration increased funds for these services ten-fold and evictions are at their lowest level in a decade. Not really surprising, considering Legal Aid and the NYC Bar ran a study that found eviction chances decrease 75 percent if the tenant has a lawyer.

But codifying legal assistance as a right would be a game-changer, expanding the program far beyond its present reach and more than tripling its upfront cost. But an independent analysis suggests this move actually saves money:

Providing legal representation to all low-income tenants would cost the city about $200 million a year, according to a March report by Stout Risius Ross, an independent advisory firm, for the bar association. But the report contended that the effort would save the city even more than that — over $300 million, annually — by keeping 5,237 families a year out of shelters, at a cost of $43,000 per family, along with other savings, such as through the preservation of rent-regulated affordable housing.

That’s a pretty sweet deal.

For Tenants Facing Eviction, New York May Guarantee a Lawyer [New York Times]

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Joe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

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