Right to Counsel in NYC: Understanding the Program’s Clients, Service Models, and Housing Court Outcomes

• In Event: Assessing the Right to Counsel: Eviction Prevention and Broader Impacts

Abstract

The New York City Department of Social Services/Human Resource Administration’s (NYC DSS/HRA) Office of Civil Justice oversees the Universal Access to Counsel (UAC) program. Established in 2017 and scaled up over several years, UAC’s anti-eviction legal services program now offers free legal representation to all low-income tenants facing eviction in NYC housing court. Limited data has been shared, however, on the socio-demographic and case characteristics of program clients, and their case outcomes. Moreover, legal services are administered by over ten different contracted providers. While each delivers the same basic services, provider models vary substantially along several key dimensions (e.g., staffing, supplementary services), with potential implications for service delivery. Better understanding the service models utilized by providers, as well as how different models are associated with case outcomes and client experiences (including their perceptions of procedural justice), can help ensure that the most effective approaches are utilized in right to counsel (RTC) eviction prevention programs.

This paper asks, first, who does NYC’s RTC program serve, in terms of client and case characteristics? Second, how do RTC providers vary in the models used for anti-eviction legal service provision? Third, what are clients’ case outcomes (e.g., remaining in home, displaced, evicted) and perceptions of procedural justice, and do they differ by client and case characteristics and provider model?

We utilize mixed methods—quantitative analysis of staff surveys and agency administrative data, qualitative analysis of interviews with program staff, leadership, and clients—to describe provider service models and client experiences. Administrative data include program enrollment records on 7,762 cases from July-November 2025, Marshall's evictions, and New York State Office of Court Administration. We use these data to examine the association between service model and housing case outcomes, utilizing multivariate logistic regression models which control for key client socio-demographic and case-related characteristics.

Of RTC program clients, 41% were single adult cases, 40% had children in the household, and 28% had an adult 60+ in the household. Median client annual income was extremely low ($15,700), median monthly rent was $1,391, and one-third of clients had a housing subsidy. Provider approaches to eviction prevention vary, with notable differences in staffing, caseloads, other services provided, and overarching service delivery models. Early data on 801 cases with case outcomes indicate that only 10% ended in displacement, with differences by client characteristics and service models. Findings point to the importance of considering both organizational factors (e.g., staffing ratios and type) as well as broader service approaches, in delivering effective RTC programs. Though our analysis is specific to New York, insights may have practice and policy implications for RTC programs in other states.

Author

• Kinsey Dinan, NYC Department of Social Services
  Presenting Author