Many indigent litigants in housing court go through court proceeding without representation. It is estimated that at least 90% of indigent civil litigants, or 2.3 million people, in New York go without an attorney in civil matters. 2 Whereas close to 100 percent of landlords have representation. 3 With housing court skewed for landlord’s eviction are almost a certainty and forces people to homelessness. The number of people entering city shelters has passed alarming rates. The only way to prevent more people from becoming homeless is to provide them with an attorney to help them keep their homes. Therefore, New York must supply indigent’s citizens with civil legal services because it has multiple benefits for the city. In addition, granting
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A vast amount of Americans cannot afford to pay a lawyer’s asking price of $200 to $300 an hour. 1 Many of these tenants lack education and cannot advocate for themselves against a lawyer, which leads to eviction. Evictions drive these individuals to homelessness, and the homeless are filling up New York City shelters. Callahan v Carey, Eldridge v Koch, and McCain v Koch guarantee shelter to men, women, and families in New York. 3A While evicted tenants are guaranteed shelter, the rising shelter population cost the city money and unnecessarily displace thousands of people. For the last ten years, eviction has risen steadily at around 29,000 people yearly. 4 According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, one out of four families receives housing assistance, and the rest devote 80 to 90 percent of their income to their rent. 5 Wages remain stagnant, housing cost is increasing, and federal spending on low-income housing has dropped. 6 These problems, coupled with eviction, have pushed over 58,000 people into the NYC shelter system with thousands more sleeping on the streets. …show more content…
However, critics still complain about the cost to government and landlords. For example, critics claim the estimated amount of money that will help indigent litigants is like throwing darts in the dark, and it is all in theory. The numbers have no foundation, and the statistics are static based on unmet needs. 12A When demand for attorneys’ changes, the amount of money necessary for representation will change as well. Landlords by law must bring cases to housing court before a tenant is evicted. Landlords fear of an overzealous legal aid will drag the fight out in court, and will cost the them additional money to maintain their attorney services. This cost, compounds the problems for a landlord, especially if they have troublesome tenants. Opponents’ claim that those who will receive free attorneys at the government expense will intentionally refuse to pay rent and violate lease policies that will hurt other tenants. 12B The difficulties of removing problem tenants would cause landlords to lose money and have to
A vast amount of Americans cannot afford to pay a lawyer’s asking price of $200 to $300 an hour. 1 Many of these tenants lack education and cannot advocate for themselves against a lawyer, which leads to eviction. Evictions drive these individuals to homelessness, and the homeless are filling up New York City shelters. Callahan v Carey, Eldridge v Koch, and McCain v Koch guarantee shelter to men, women, and families in New York. 3A While evicted tenants are guaranteed shelter, the rising shelter population cost the city money and unnecessarily displace thousands of people. For the last ten years, eviction has risen steadily at around 29,000 people yearly. 4 According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, one out of four families receives housing assistance, and the rest devote 80 to 90 percent of their income to their rent. 5 Wages remain stagnant, housing cost is increasing, and federal spending on low-income housing has dropped. 6 These problems, coupled with eviction, have pushed over 58,000 people into the NYC shelter system with thousands more sleeping on the streets. …show more content…
However, critics still complain about the cost to government and landlords. For example, critics claim the estimated amount of money that will help indigent litigants is like throwing darts in the dark, and it is all in theory. The numbers have no foundation, and the statistics are static based on unmet needs. 12A When demand for attorneys’ changes, the amount of money necessary for representation will change as well. Landlords by law must bring cases to housing court before a tenant is evicted. Landlords fear of an overzealous legal aid will drag the fight out in court, and will cost the them additional money to maintain their attorney services. This cost, compounds the problems for a landlord, especially if they have troublesome tenants. Opponents’ claim that those who will receive free attorneys at the government expense will intentionally refuse to pay rent and violate lease policies that will hurt other tenants. 12B The difficulties of removing problem tenants would cause landlords to lose money and have to