State of New York City’s Housing Court

SUMMARY

New York City’s Housing Court handles nearly a quarter million cases each year concerning landlord-tenant disputes from repairs to evictions. The Court is going through generational change.  Groundbreaking reform has been inspired by recent proposals from the Special Commission on the Future of the New York City Housing Court and by the implementation of universal access to counsel for low-income tenants. Recognizing this change, the Housing Court Committee of the New York City Bar Association  conducted a survey to ascertain practitioners’ opinions on these reforms and proposals for future improvements. The data used in this report were obtained by an anonymous survey that was sent to judges, court attorneys, and litigators who work within Housing Court.