Letter Urging the Inclusion of a Right to Counsel for all Tenants Facing Eviction in 2024-25 New York State Budget
SUMMARY
The Task Force on Civil Right to Counsel sent a letter to Governor Hochul and legislative leaders urging them to prioritize the inclusion of Statewide Right to Counsel legislation (S.2721 Sen. May) and funding of $260 million in the FY 2025 budget. The letter explains, “Losing one’s home is one of the most devastating consequences of judgments in our civil court system. The City Bar has long supported the principle that tenants who face eviction from their homes should have a right to counsel. We were co-sponsors of the 2005 American Bar Association resolution calling for a right to counsel in civil matters where fundamental human needs are at stake. We actively supported passage of New York City’s groundbreaking right to counsel law that passed in 2017 and we have been supporting the expansion of right to counsel statewide since legislation to that effect was introduced a couple of years ago. New York has always been a leader in promoting safe, decent affordable housing for all and in taking measures to address access to justice and the prevention of homelessness. A right to counsel in eviction proceedings advances all of these goals. All the accumulating data demonstrates that a right to counsel keeps tenants in their homes, assists them in securing necessary repairs and essential services, and protects them from illegal rent overcharges. Judges in New York City have welcomed having counsel on both sides in eviction proceedings because it helps them understand the issues and resolve conflicts.”
REPORT
April 1, 2024
Hon. Kathy Hochul
Governor of the State of New York
New York State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
Hon. Carl Heastie
Speaker
New York State Assembly
Legislative Office Building 932
Albany, NY 12248
Hon. Andrea Stewart-Cousins
Majority Leader
New York State Senate
Legislative Office Building 907
Albany, NY 12247
RE: Passage of legislation to guarantee the Right to Counsel for all tenants facing eviction in New York State
Dear Governor Hochul, Speaker Heastie and Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins:
On behalf of New York City Bar Association (the City Bar) we write to urge you to prioritize the inclusion of Statewide Right to Counsel legislation (S.2721 Sen. May) and funding of $260 million in the FY 2025 budget.
Losing one’s home is one of the most devastating consequences of judgments in our civil court system. The City Bar has long supported the principle that tenants who face eviction from their homes should have a right to counsel.[1] We were co-sponsors of the 2005 American Bar Association resolution calling for a right to counsel in civil matters where fundamental human needs are at stake. We actively supported passage of New York City s groundbreaking right to counsel law that passed in 2017 and we have been supporting the expansion of right to counsel statewide since legislation to that effect was introduced a couple of years ago.[2]
New York has always been a leader in promoting safe, decent affordable housing for all and in taking measures to address access to justice and the prevention of homelessness. A right to counsel in eviction proceedings advances all of these goals. All the accumulating data demonstrates that a right to counsel keeps tenants in their homes, assists them in securing necessary repairs and essential services, and
protects them from illegal rent overcharges. Judges in New York City have welcomed having counsel on both sides in eviction proceedings because it helps them understand the issues and resolve conflicts.
Since passage of New York City’s right to counsel law in 2017, four states and eighteen local jurisdictions, including Westchester County, have adopted eviction right to counsel legislation.[3] It’s time for New York State to take a leadership role in this critical issue. We urge you to support the effort to add eviction right to counsel in the state budget.
Respectfully,
Susan Kohlmann, President
Alison McKinnell King, Co-Chair
Task Force on the Civil Right to Counsel
Andrew A. Scherer, Co-Chair
Task Force on the Civil Right to Counsel
Sara Nicole Wagner, Co-Chair
Task Force on the Civil Right to Counsel
Footnotes
[1] See in general Civil Right to Counsel Task Force, https://www.nycbar.org/committees/task-force-on-civil-right-to-counsel/?back=1.
[2] See i.e. Report supporting legislation to provide the right to counsel in eviction, foreclosure and/or ejectment cases in New York City which can result in the litigant s loss of shelter , Feb. 27, 2015, https://www.nycbar.org/reports/report-supporting-legislation-to-provide-the-right-to-counsel-in-eviction-foreclosure-and-or-ejectment-cases-in-new-york-city-which-can-result-in-the-litigants-loss-of-shelter/?back=1; Written Testimony of the New York City Bar Association in Support of Int. 214-A, Providing a Right to Counsel in Housing Court, Sept. 26, 2016, https://www.nycbar.org/reports/written-testimony-of-the-new-york-city-bar-association-in-support-of-int-214-a-providing-a-right-to-counsel-in-housing-court/?back=1;
Expanding Right to Counsel for Tenants in New York City Housing Court, Feb. 23, 2020, https://www.nycbar.org/reports/expanding-right-to-counsel-for-tenants-in-new-york-city-housing-court/?back=1; Testimony on the Right to Counsel, Feb. 28, 2024, https://www.nycbar.org/reports/testimony-on-the-right-to-counsel-program/?back=1; and “Hearing Testimony for Universal Access to Legal Services Law,” March 27, 2023, https://www.nycbar.org/reports/hearing-testimony-for-universal-access-to-legal-services-law/?back=1.
[3] Current Tally of Tenant Right to Counsel Jurisdictions, National Coalition
for a Civil Right to Counsel, http://civilrighttocounsel.org/highlighted_work/organizing_around_right_to_counsel (last visited March 29, 2024). See also The Right to Counsel for Tenants Facing Eviction: Enacted Legislation, National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel, Nov. 2023, at 3, http://civilrighttocounsel.org/uploaded_files/283/RTC_Enacted_Legislation_in_Eviction_Proceedings_FINAL.pdf.
