Council Members Vanessa Gibson and Mark Levine and activists celebrate the anniversary of the passage of the Right to Counsel bill in September 2018. The program will now be expanding to include more ZIP codes. Image Credit: Official NYC Council Photo by William Alatriste

The expansion provides free legal assistance for tenants in five additional ZIP codes. On December 13, 2019, the Mayor’s Office announced an expansion of the Right to Counsel program that provides free legal assistance to New Yorkers fighting eviction. The Right to Counsel program, implemented by a ZIP code by ZIP code approach, will be expanded to five more ZIP codes across the City. (read more…)

One of the new advertisements that are a part of a campaign by the Mayor’s office to inform tenants of their rights. Image Credit: Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants

de Blasio Administration educates tenants on Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act. On October 21, 2019, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the launch of a campaign to educate tenants on their new rights under the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019.  The Mayor’s Office designed the advertisements to protect tenants and give New York City renters the information they need to hold their landlords accountable. (read more…)

CityLand

New Yorkers will now have access to detailed information on individual landlords in the City. On December 19, 2017, Public Advocate Letitia James’s legislation to create a centralized database on New York City’s landlords was passed unanimously in the New York City Council. (read more…)

Image Credit: NYCourts.gov

The Department of Consumer affairs charged a real estate broker with failing to post a sign alerting tenants of their rights. Arash Real Estate & Management Co is a residential and real estate broker located in Queens. In January 2013 the Department of Consumer Affairs charged Arash with violating the City Administrative Code by failing to post signs advising tenants of their rights to one free tenant screening report annually from each consumer reporting agency. Tenant screening reports are used primarily by residential landlords and property managers to assess the likelihood that a tenant will fulfill the terms of the lease or rental agreement. The signs alert tenants to their right to dispute inaccurate information. (read more…)