NYC OCJ Annual Hearing on RTC

December 9, 2025

Thank you for the opportunity to testify about New York City’s Right to Counsel law. The Right to Counsel Coalition is a tenant-led coalition that formed in 2014 to disrupt Housing Court as a center of displacement and to end the eviction crisis threatening our families, neighborhoods, and homes. After a hard fought three-year grassroots campaign, we made history: New York City became the first city in the nation to establish a Right to Counsel (RTC) for tenants facing eviction.

Since then, RTC’s success has been undeniable. Evictions plummeted, landlords sued tenants less, and at least 84 percent of tenants who had an RTC attorney stayed in their homes. RTC has also helped establish more just case law, lowered rents, stabilized apartments, and forced landlords to make repairs.

Evictions do more than displace people – they harm health, employment, education, and entire communities. Studies show that RTC prevents those harms. One recent study found that access to counsel reduces adverse birth outcomes among Medicaid-insured mothers, showing that eviction prevention is also a matter of public health. We also know that eviction disproportionately impacts people of color, especially Black women and children. With one in eight children in New York City experiencing homelessness, the stakes could not be higher.

When properly implemented, RTC prevents eviction, keeps families housed, and strengthens communities. But today, the Office of Civil Justice (OCJ), the city agency charged with enforcing RTC, is falling short of its mandate. Since January 2022, more than 110,000 households have faced eviction alone – and the majority of them were eligible for RTC. Thousands of New Yorkers are being forced from their homes, being denied their rights, and losing cases they should have won. This is a violation of due process and a moral failure of the City.

OCJ exists because tenants organized and won this right. Under the de Blasio administration, OCJ worked collaboratively with the courts and our Coalition to enforce Local Law 136. The agency was transparent, responsive, and committed to upholding RTC. Under the Adams administration, OCJ retreated from that role – too often capitulating to the courts’ position instead of enforcing NYC tenants’ rights.

With OCJ’s new leadership – Masha Gindler and Peta-Gaye Daniels – we are hopeful the agency will rebuild a strong partnership with the tenant movement and recommit to ensuring the full success of RTC. To achieve this, OCJ must act now to enforce and strengthen the law.

1. Provide Zealous Oversight and Partnership with Tenants to Strengthen RTC

OCJ is required by law to hold annual public hearings and release annual reports on RTC implementation. Under the Adams administration, these reports have been delayed and hearings were postponed or held virtually, limiting public access and transparency. We are encouraged that OCJ has resumed in-person annual hearings and has begun meeting with us regularly, and we hope this continues. To restore transparency and accountability, OCJ must also:

• Release timely public reports each year.
• Maintain regular meetings with our Coalition – not only with contracted legal providers – to ensure RTC implementation reflects the needs of tenants facing eviction.
• Use its full authority and work with OCA to ensure that every eligible tenant receives RTC. 

OCJ must once again act as an advocate for tenants, not an arm of the court bureaucracy.

2. Join Us in Demanding that the City Fully Fund RTC

Local Law 136 is not fully funded. While the City has increased funding over time, current funding levels still do not cover the full cost. Legal services providers face untenable caseloads and unsustainable retention rates – conditions that undermine RTC’s effectiveness and threaten its sustainability. OCJ must join us in calling on the City to:

• Increase RTC funding by at least $350 million immediately to ensure every eligible tenant has zealous representation.
• Establish a mechanism to adjust funding as the volume of cases changes.
• Plan proactively for higher costs when the number of cases increases.

3. Publicly Support Our Demands of OCA to Uphold Tenants’ Rights in Housing Court

The courts must do their part to uphold tenants’ legal rights. OCJ’s leadership and advocacy are essential in pushing the Office of Court Administration (OCA) to uphold RTC. OCA must:

• Reduce the volume of eviction cases on court calendars so the number of cases matches the capacity of legal service providers.
• Work in true partnership with OCJ to ensure that all eligible tenants receive the Right to Counsel they are entitled to.
• Adjourn cases when no RTC attorney is available, until a tenant secures counsel and their attorney has adequate time to prepare.

OCJ’s public support and pressure are crucial to making this happen.

4. Publicly Support and Urge the State to Pass Statewide Right to Counsel

A long-term solution to this crisis requires statewide action. The Legislature must pass Statewide Right to Counsel (S6772 / A4669), which would:

• Expand RTC to cover ALL tenants in NYC (and across the state).
• Require courts to notify tenants of their Right to Counsel and provide information on how to connect with an attorney.
• Mandate adjournments until tenants have secured counsel.

If these rules had already been in place, the crisis we face in New York City today would not exist. Right to Counsel keeps New Yorkers in their homes. It is one of the most effective anti-displacement and anti-homelessness tools this city has ever had. For RTC to remain powerful, it must be enforced.

We call on OCJ to:

• Support increasing RTC funding by at least $350 million.

• Zealously enforce and report on the law, push OCA to uphold tenant protections, and work in true partnership with our Coalition.

• Advocate for the passage of Statewide Right to Counsel legislation (S6772 / A4669).

We urge you to treat this crisis with the urgency it deserves. The Right to Counsel is only powerful at keeping tenants housed if it is upheld. New Yorkers fought for this right, and we will continue fighting until every tenant can exercise their Right to Counsel.

For more information, contact Coalition Director, Malika Conner: [email protected]