The Legal Aid Society announced a landmark settlement agreement requiring supportive housing provider CAMBA, Inc. to adopt new procedures designed to prevent the avoidable eviction of tenants.

Supportive housing is permanent, affordable housing paired with supportive services. For low-income New Yorkers, it is often a critical lifeline. Losing that housing can return tenants to homelessness, destabilize their health and lives, and undermine the very purpose of a system designed to provide long-term housing stability. 

The settlement resolves a lawsuit brought by three CAMBA supportive housing tenants who alleged that CAMBA and its affiliate, CHV 560 Winthrop Street LP, failed to provide reasonable accommodations that would have enabled them to remain in their homes without facing the risk of eviction and homelessness.

“Supportive housing is supposed to be a foundation for stability—not another pathway back into homelessness,” said Maddie Reichman, an attorney in the Civil Law Reform Unit at Legal Aid. “Our clients should not lose their homes because a rent arrears problem was never given a meaningful opportunity to be resolved.”

“This settlement requires CAMBA to put housing stability first by connecting tenants to available assistance and exhausting reasonable alternatives before seeking to evict them,” she continued. “We appreciate CAMBA’s cooperation in resolving this matter, and hope this agreement serves as a model for supportive housing providers across New York City.”