How To Fight Eviction During COVID-19: Must-Know Rights, Rules, and Resources For Tenants

“Evicted!” by tom.arthur is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

As the summer winds up, New York City is facing an eviction crisis.

Between the end of the eviction moratorium on August 20 that kept many New York City residents in their homes despite not being able to pay rent, and the end of enhanced unemployment benefits at the end of the month, New York City is facing a wave of up to 50,000 eviction cases in housing courts, starting as soon as this week.

IMPACCT Brooklyn is here to help tenants in need avoid homelessness. As a tenant, you can get a head start on fighting a potential eviction by knowing your rights, learning what the eviction process should (and should not) look like, and taking advantage of all the resources available to you.

As a tenant, what are your rights?

NYC Housing Court will accept new eviction filings effective June 20, 2020; however, no tenant may be evicted until further notice, and all pending eviction orders are suspended by court order.

Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Tenant Safe Harbor Act (THSA) into statewide law June 30, 2020. Under TSHA, landlords can only seek a money judgment from tenants, rather than formally trying to evict them from their apartments. This creates a space for landlords and tenants negotiate payment of backlogged rent once the state-mandated eviction moratorium ends August 20th.

Tenants who are eligible for unemployment insurance or benefits or face financial hardship due to COVID-19 may not be evicted for nonpayment of rent until at least August 20, 2020, and tenants who live in public housing, have a Section 8 rental voucher, or live in a building that has federally backed mortgages or funding may not be evicted for nonpayment of rent until at least July 24, 2020. Both of these groups of tenants are protected against evictions by state and federal moratoriums.

Additionally, prior tenants’ rights are still active. Tenants can still expect to live in safe, well-maintained buildings that are free from vermin, leaks, and hazardous conditions, and to not be harassed or discriminated against by a landlord or building management.

The Eviction Process

As of June 29, landlords can only file new eviction cases by mailing in to the housing court; however, your landlord cannot evict you without going to court and getting an order from a judge.

If you are served with papers for an eviction case, you do not need to visit the courthouse to respond. Since new eviction petitions are required to include a notice that includes information about how a tenant can respond to the petition by phone and share the phone number for Housing Court Answers (a resource to provide callers basic legal information and connection with free legal services through HRA’s Office of Civil Justice), any tenant who receives court papers for a Housing Court case can just respond to the petition by phone instead of going to the courthouse to respond in person. Regardless, unrepresented landlords or tenants who come to the courthouse to file a case or answer will be assisted.

A few other key points to know:

  • Until further notice, NYC Housing Court is not scheduling conferences or hearings in pending eviction cases where the tenant is not represented by a lawyer. All eviction cases involved a tenant without legal counsel are stayed (or temporarily suspended) for the time being.
  • The court will not default tenants who do not respond to an eviction petition.
  • If you receive a Notice of Eviction, all you need to do in response is send your landlord or management company a letter with the following: “I am protected by Executive Order 202.28 because I am experiencing financial hardship as the result of COVID-19. Under the Governor’s Executive Order you cannot start or continue an eviction proceeding for nonpayment of rent against me.”
  • Families that are behind on rent and have been pressured to produce financial info or threatened with eviction should reach out to IMPACCT Brooklyn’s Community Organizing department immediately for assistance.

What Resources Are Available To You?

When evictions are allowed to resume, the NYC Human Resources Administration’s Office of Civil Justice will work with Cityfunded legal services providers and the courts to assign attorneys to unrepresented tenants who go to court because they have received a warrant of eviction. Right now, HRA is ready to receive applications for emergency rental assistance for those in need. In most cases, the entire process can be done without visiting an HRA office in person. Visit Access HRA to submit your applications for emergency rental assistance and other benefits.

Under NYC’s Right to Counsel law, anyone living in certain zip codes who is income eligible has the RIGHT to a free attorney — tenant attorneys have to take your case. The Brooklyn zip codes are 11216, 11221, 11225, 11226, and 11207. Legal Aid NYC can provide you with free or low-cost legal representation in housing court.

In order to take action against an abusive landlord, you’ll need proof of retaliation, harassment, or any landlord wrongdoing, all of which will be easy to come by if you and your fellow tenants organize your building. IMPACCT Brooklyn will help you stand up for your rights as a tenant and fight landlord harassment, unsafe and unhealthy living conditions, and unfair evictions. We step in to organize tenant associations, putting residents in a stronger position to demand repairs and maintenance for their apartments and their buildings.

Finally, if you receive a Notice of Eviction, you might be able to stay in your home. Call 311 and say “Tenant Helpline” to be connected with assistance.

Families that are behind on rent and have been pressured to produce financial info or threatened with eviction should reach out to IMPACCT Brooklyn’s Community Organizing department immediately for assistance.

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