NYC Right to Counsel: Free Housing Court Lawyer, Who Qualifies

If you’re a residential tenant facing eviction in New York City, the Right to Counsel law entitles you to a free attorney in Housing Court when your household income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. For 2026, that’s $31,920 for a single person and $66,000 for a family of four. The program runs through the city’s Office of Civil Justice, covers every zip code, and applies to nonpayment cases, holdover cases, and NYCHA termination-of-tenancy proceedings.¹²

Who Qualifies

Two things decide eligibility: the type of case and your household income. The law covers summary proceedings in Housing Court, meaning nonpayment cases (where the landlord claims you owe rent) and holdover cases (where the landlord wants you out for other reasons). It also covers NYCHA administrative proceedings that could end your tenancy. You must be a tenant of a residential rental unit in New York City. Commercial tenants are not covered.¹

The financial cutoff is 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, updated each year. The 2026 limits:

1 person: $31,920
2 people: $43,280
3 people: $54,640
4 people: $66,000
5 people: $77,360

Add $11,360 for each additional household member.²

If your income is above that line, you still qualify for “brief legal assistance,” which is a one-time consultation with an attorney who can explain your rights, evaluate defenses, and advise you on next steps. Everyone in a covered proceeding gets at least that much.¹

Immigration status does not affect eligibility. The program is open to all residential tenants citywide, regardless of documentation status.³

How to Reach a Lawyer Before Your Court Date

Do not wait for your court date. Connecting early gives a provider time to review your case and pull documents together.

Call 311 and ask for the Tenant Helpline.
Call Housing Court Answers at 718-557-1379 or 212-962-4795, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Email the Office of Civil Justice at civiljustice@hra.nyc.gov. Include your name, phone number, and your Housing Court index number if you have one.
Contact a nonprofit legal services office directly. The city contracts with organizations across all five boroughs, including The Legal Aid Society, Legal Services NYC, and the New York Legal Assistance Group.

If you haven’t connected with anyone by the time your court date arrives, go to your first scheduled appearance and tell the clerk or judge, “I would like an attorney.” Legal service providers staff intake areas inside the courthouse and can screen you for eligibility the same day. Judges typically grant an adjournment so you can finish intake and get assigned a lawyer.⁴

What to Bring to Your Intake Appointment

Providers need to confirm two things: that you qualify financially and that you have an active eviction case.

For income, bring any of the following:

Pay stubs covering at least the last 30 days
Your most recent federal tax return
Benefits award letters for programs like SNAP, SSI, SSDI, or public assistance

For the case itself, bring the court papers your landlord served on you: the Notice of Petition and the Petition. The index number is stamped on the front of the Notice of Petition and looks something like L&T 050000/24. If you’ve lost the papers, the Housing Court Clerk’s office can pull copies by searching your name or address.⁵

Show Up: Missing Court Can Cost You the Apartment

Appearing is what triggers your right to an attorney. Roughly half of tenants with eligible cases never make it to their first appearance, and they never get the representation the law entitles them to.⁶

If you don’t show up, the landlord can ask for a default judgment. In a nonpayment case, the landlord can request that default from the clerk as soon as 10 days after serving the petition if you never filed an answer. In a holdover case, the judge holds an inquest where only the landlord’s side is heard. A default judgment leads to a warrant of eviction. Once the warrant is issued and served on you as a Notice of Eviction, the city marshal must wait at least 14 days before carrying it out.⁷

You can ask the court to vacate a default judgment, but the window is narrow and you need a legitimate reason, such as a medical emergency or never actually receiving the court papers. The NYC court system provides a free online tool that generates the paperwork for that motion. Every day you wait moves you closer to the marshal at your door.⁸

Even if you think you have no defense, go to court. That’s how you get a lawyer.

What Your Attorney Handles

Once you’re assigned an attorney, that lawyer files a Notice of Appearance with the court clerk, which puts the landlord’s attorney and the judge on notice that you’re represented. From there, your lawyer handles court appearances, filings, and negotiations.⁹

Your attorney prepares an Answer to the Petition responding to the landlord’s claims and raising defenses. Common defenses include the landlord’s failure to maintain the apartment in livable condition, rent overcharges, improper service of the court papers, and failure to follow required pre-eviction notice procedures.

Most eviction cases end in a negotiated agreement called a stipulation of settlement rather than a trial, and this is where representation matters most. A stipulation is a binding agreement between you and your landlord; once you sign, you’re legally required to follow every term or risk eviction. Your attorney negotiates payment amounts and deadlines, any rent reductions the landlord agrees to, timelines for repairs, and language protecting your ability to return to court and ask for more time if things change. Never sign a stipulation you haven’t read completely and understood.

NYCHA Tenants Are Covered

If you live in NYCHA public housing and are facing a termination-of-tenancy proceeding, the Right to Counsel law covers you the same way it covers tenants in Housing Court. NYCHA handles terminations through its own administrative hearings rather than Housing Court, but the income thresholds and eligibility rules are the same. Use any of the intake channels above, and mention that your case is a NYCHA termination proceeding so you’re routed to the right provider.¹⁴

If Your Landlord Locks You Out Without a Court Order

A lockout without a court order is not the same as an eviction case, and Right to Counsel is built around court proceedings. But tenants often confuse the two, so it helps to know the difference. A landlord who changes your locks, shuts off utilities, removes your belongings, or physically bars you from the apartment without a court order has committed an illegal eviction. Under state law it’s a class A misdemeanor, and the landlord faces civil penalties between $1,000 and $10,000 per violation, plus up to $100 per day for up to six months if they refuse to restore you after you ask.¹⁰ You can also sue for treble damages, meaning three times your actual losses.¹¹

Call the police first. Officers can sometimes get you back into your apartment on the spot. If they can’t, go to Housing Court and file an Order to Show Cause to Restore Possession. The court treats these on an expedited schedule. Bring valid ID so court personnel can notarize your petition, and ask about fee waivers if you can’t afford the court costs.¹²

The Program Is Overloaded. Move Early.

Right to Counsel was a landmark when it passed in 2017. Before the law, roughly 95% of landlords in Housing Court had lawyers and barely 1% of tenants did. Representation for tenants climbed from below 20% to around 50% by 2020 in the neighborhoods where the program first launched.⁶

After the program went citywide and post-pandemic caseloads surged, overall tenant representation dropped to about one-third of cases. In 2024, more than half the tenants the program served received only brief assistance rather than full representation in court. That’s the gap between what the law promises and what providers can deliver at current funding. Tenants who reach out before their first appearance, arrive at intake with income proof and court papers in hand, and show up to every court date are in the strongest position to actually receive the full representation the law guarantees.⁶

1
The City of New York. Local Law 136 of 2017 – Provision of Legal Services in Eviction Proceedings
2
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2026 Poverty Guidelines
3
NYC.gov. Right to Counsel
4
NYC Human Resources Administration. Legal Services for Tenants
5
New York State Unified Court System. New York City Housing Court – Starting a Case
6
NYC Independent Budget Office. The Expansion of New York City’s Right to Counsel Program
7
NYC Department of Investigation. Marshals Evictions FAQ
8
New York State Unified Court System. Tenant Affirmation to Vacate a Default Judgment
9
New York State Unified Court System. New York City Housing Court – Forms
10
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 768 – Unlawful Eviction
11
New York State Senate. New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 853 – Action for Forcible or Unlawful Entry or Detainer; Treble Damages
12
New York State Unified Court System. Illegal Lockouts