Enacts the "New York state right to counsel act"

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Luis R. Sepúlveda says this is needed

Eviction proceedings disproportionately impact and displace low-middle income people and people of color from their homes and communities. Housing is a core necessity that affects one's ability to maintain their family, employment, health, etc. Eviction proceedings without represen- tation exact a toll on the physical, mental, developmental, and finan- cial well-beings of all those who would be forced to vacate a unit in a case that results in an eviction. Respondents without legal representation are significantly more likely than those with legal representation to be evicted and experience home- lessness. Respondents without legal representation are also more likely to sign stipulations without understanding their potentially negative ramifications. Landlords, much more often than Respondents, have access to legal representation due to increased access to capital. Access to counsel in housing court cases is essential to upholding fundamental rights to due process in this country. Across New York state, there is a significant shortage in pro bono housing attorneys available to defend Respondents. However, there is no shortage of housing court defendants facing eviction.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.