More Cities Supporting Legal Counsel as a Right for All Renters

"On August 11, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed legislation that, when fully implemented, will dedicate $155 million a year to ensure that all low-income tenants in New York City have access to legal representation in housing court," reports Jimmy Tobias.

"The right-to-counsel legislation is the first of its kind in the country, but it won’t be the last," adds Tobias. "From Philadelphia and Baltimore to San Francisco and Washington, DC, a diffuse but savvy movement is taking shape to ensure that tenants get the legal assistance they need when landlords try to kick them to the curb."

According to Tobias, tenant advocates consider right-to-counsel laws as a tool for slowing gentrification and solving the housing crisis.

The article offers personal anecdotes from New York City, a mention for Mathew Desmond's Pulitzer Prize-winning book Evicted, and more details on the New York law along with the forthcoming laws in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.