Despite having legal protections against unlawful evictions, discrimination, and uninhabitable living conditions, many tenants often feel powerless and are unaware of their rights.
Jonathan Fox, NYLAG’s Tenants Rights Unit Director, shared answers to common questions about tenants’ rights and the legal protections available to all New York City renters.
“New York City guarantees protections from unlawful evictions, discrimination, and uninhabitable living conditions for all tenants, regardless of immigration status. However, not every tenant is aware of their rights
“In our Spanish WhatsApp Newsletter, Documented Semanal, members shared experiences where they left their apartments due to lack of awareness about their eviction protections. In some cases, this has led to loss of furniture and belongings. Here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions Documented received…
“’If you have been living somewhere for more than 30 days, you are entitled to be evicted through normal housing court eviction process,’ Jonathan Fox, Director of Tenant Rights Unit at New York Legal Assistance Group, said. He added that evictions without court orders from a judge are considered an illegal eviction.
“Illegal evictions happen when a tenant, who has been living in a unit for more than 30 days, has a lease or has paid rent, is removed from their apartment without having a warrant for possession obtained through a judge’s order. If the tenant is illegally evicted, or locked out by the landlord, they can regain possession of the apartment by filing an Order to Court Show with the housing courts.”…
Read the full piece from Rommel H. Ojeda in Documented from September 24, 2024.
