Today, Housing Justice for All, the Community Service Society, NYU’s Urban Democracy Lab, and Pratt Center for Community Development released a new report detailing how Black New Yorkers continue to face inequities when securing and maintaining permanent housing, following a press conference in Albany.

The main findings of the report include:

• Black tenants in NYC are twice as likely as white tenants to have zero dollars in savings.
• Black households in New York are three times as likely to face eviction as white households.
• Across New York, evictions filed at higher rates in counties with high shares of Black renters.

The report also offers solutions to these racial disparities by calling on the New York legislature to pass Good Cause Eviction and the Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP) this session.

The “Good Cause” eviction bill would require landlords to demonstrate a good reason for evicting tenants in non-rent-stabilized units. It would also protect tenants from exorbitant rent hikes and allow individuals to advocate for repairs without the fear of retaliation. HAVP would create a program similar to the federal Section 8 law, providing a rental subsidy for low-income New Yorkers which would allow them to stay in their homes.

“For too long, tenants in unregulated apartments throughout New York State, especially those from Black and Latinx communities, have lacked critical protections to defend against warrantless evictions and rent hikes,” said Adriene Holder, Attorney-In-Charge of the Civil Practice at The Legal Aid Society.

“On the last day of Black History Month, let’s reaffirm our commitment toward ensuring that all New Yorkers, especially those most vulnerable, are able to stay in their homes,” she continued. “The Legal Aid Society calls on Albany to enact ‘Good Cause’, budget neutral legislation, without any further delay. Our clients deserve nothing less.”