NYC offers free lawyers for residents facing evictions, including squatters
NEW YORK (PIX11) — If you are a resident of New York City and facing a possible eviction, the city has a program that will provide you with legal services for free.
The Right-to-Counsel (RTC) law is available no matter your immigration status.
RTC aims to help “tenants facing eviction in Housing Court or NYCHA administrative proceedings access to free legal representation and advice … from across the five boroughs,” according to New York City’s website.
What to know about NYC squatter rights
To get a lawyer under the RTC law, go to your first court appearance and say, “I would like an attorney,” according to the city’s website.
Someone in New York City who is “squatting” in a home could use the city’s RTC law to gain legal representation during their legal battle once the eviction process has started.
It only takes 30 days to gain squatter rights in New York, according to the state’s Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law §711. Under state law, squatting is a form of an “adverse possessor” – someone who occupies the property of another person or entity “with or without knowledge of the other’s superior ownership rights that would give the owner a cause of action for ejectment.”
Squatters allegedly living in empty Triple Crown Diner in Queens
To learn more information about New York City’s RTC law, click here.
Jonathan Rizk is a digital journalist who has covered local news in New York City and Washington, D.C. He has been with PIX11 since August 2022. See more of his work here, and follow him on X and Facebook @OfficialRizk. Get in touch at jonathan.rizk@pix11.com.
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