Westchester County Office of Housing Counsel Officially Opened

The Westchester County Office of Housing Counsel (OHC) has officially opened for business to ensure that financially eligible tenants have access to resources and legal representation at no cost to themselves in eviction and related proceedings.

The innovative program is the first of its kind for a county and will help stabilize communities and address housing insecurity. In addition to providing free legal services, the OHC will coordinate access to pre-eviction support and counseling programs under one roof. The opening of the program was announced at a press event on Thursday in White Plains.

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins said: “When the Westchester County Board of Legislators and the administration created the OHC, it was a promise to address housing insecurity head on, and it is a promise kept. The heart of the Housing Counsel law is the assurance that all financially eligible tenants have access to legal representation at no cost to them in eviction proceedings. The OHC will do that, but it will also do more. The Office is be a place where every tenant, regardless of financial means, can seek preventive services before a situation escalates to the point of an eviction proceeding. Our goal is to stabilize families and communities by keeping people in their homes and out of the shelter system.”

OHC Director George Asante said: “The OHC was created to fill a crucial need. The vast majority of tenants facing eviction go into court with no legal representation despite the outcomes being far better when tenants appear with an attorney. We want to make sure tenants’ rights are protected. But most of all we want to keep families in their homes. That’s why we are implementing a holistic approach to eviction prevention. We want you to reach out to us if you’re facing eviction, but just as importantly, we want you to reach out before you’re in trouble.”

Residents who are facing eviction, having trouble paying their rent, in a rent dispute with a landlord, facing a loss of essential services like heat and hot water, or are facing other problems, can reach out to the OHC to be connected to legal representation, counseling, financial assistance and other programs, provided through one of nine service providers that the County has contracted with.

Residents can call 2-1-1, where specialists at United Way 211 Helpline of the Hudson Valley will be available 24-hours a day, 365-days a year, to assess callers’ needs and connect them with appropriate providers. Alternatively, residents can reach out online by completing the OHC intake form at http://housingcounsel.westchestergov.com, which OHC staff will review before connecting them with relevant services.

Under Westchester’s Housing Counsel Law, tenants are entitled to free legal representation in eviction and related proceedings if their gross household income is 300% of the federal poverty level for a household of their size, or 60% of the County’s average median income for a household of their size. That means a family of three with a gross annual household income of $91,800 — $1,765 a week — would be eligible for legal representation.

The Office of Housing Counsel does not directly provide representation. It functions as a clearinghouse to connect residents with one of the following contracted legal service providers: Legal Services of the Hudson Valley, Human Development Services of Westchester, Hudson Valley Justice Center and the Law Office of Tracy Forrest, Esq.