LEAH’S HOUSING NERD CORNER
Hi there! I get a ton of housing questions seeking legal assistance or referrals. While I wish I could answer each one individually, I don’t have the capacity to offer advice or referrals directly. However, I’ve put together this resource page that I hope you’ll find helpful. This page does not constitute legal advice.
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I’m not taking on any clients right now.
Here’s what you can do. If you’re looking for a private attorney, contact your local bar association and ask for a referral (if you’re in NYC, you can contact the NYC Bar Association). If you are seeking a legal aid attorney (free for income eligible tenants), check out LawHelp to find organizations in your state. If you’re in NYC and seeking a free attorney, call 311 and say “I need a tenants’ rights attorney” or visit this page.
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Housing Resources
If you’re in NYC, contact Housing Court Answers.
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Tenant Resources
Definitely the National Low Income Housing Coalition—they do great work. The National Coalition for the Civil Right to Counsel is working to get all tenants access to free attorneys.
Leah’s Top 3 Tenant Tips
If you’re going to be short on rent, start the rental assistance process as soon as possible! Many charities and programs run out of money, and even if they do have funds available, the process can take a month or longer.
Yelp and Google reviews are great. What’s gold? Looking up whether the apartment you’re interested in has housing code violations. It doesn’t matter how swanky it looks—sometimes those luxury apartments have the most repair issues. If you’re in NYC, you can punch in the building address here and check for code violations.
Key fobs are convenient. Some landlords use them for surveillance.
Housing Hot Topic :
Rent Stabilization is Under Attack
While I was on the Rent Guidelines Board, I was sued by landlords who were challenging rent stabilization!
Common Question
“I want to stay up to date on tenant issues.”
Follow the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
