BILL NUMBER: S7480
SPONSOR: HOYLMAN-SIGAL
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the real property actions and proceedings law, in
relation to adjournments relating to right to counsel
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To ensure parties to an eviction proceeding have an adequate opportunity
to secure counsel when access to counsel is guaranteed under local law.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 provides a right to consecutive adjournments of not less than
fourteen days each when an unrepresented party to an eviction proceeding
is eligible under local law for free legal counsel and has attempted in
good faith to secure that counsel but has been unable to obtain counsel
through no fault of their own. The adjournments continue until the party
is able to secure counsel.
Section 2 ensures that the adjournments provided by section one of the
bill do not count against an unrepresented party for the purposes of
RPAPL 745(2)(a).
Section 3 establishes the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Under local law, tenants in New York City earning less than 200 percent
of the federal poverty level are entitled to free legal representation
in an eviction proceeding. N.Y.C. Ad. Code Title 26 Chapter 13. Despite
this guarantee, less than ten percent of tenants in housing court had a
lawyer in September and October of 2022. Evictions are being filed and
calendared at a much faster rate than legal services providers can
handle. Landlords filed about 2,100 new evictions each week between
April and October 2022, the highest rate since the start of the COVID-19
pandemic. The shortage of legal counsel disproportionately affects
communities of color, where 82 percent of evictions are filed.
This bill will ensure that when local governments provide a right to
counsel, it is not an empty process. It will require courts to honor the
right to counsel by adjourning eviction proceedings until any party
entitled to counsel has an opportunity obtain that counsel.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S.3254 of 2023-2024 (Hoylman-Sigal): Died in Housing, Construction, and
Community Development
A.4993 of 2023-2024 (Rosenthal): Died in Judiciary
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to actions and
proceedings pending on and after such date.

Statutes affected:
S7480: 745 real property actions and proceedings law, 745(1) real property actions and proceedings law