The front page of the new Tenant Portal, where tenants can find resources to help them stay in their homes. Image Credit: Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants
Tenants can answer questions on the portal to be directed to relevant resources. On August 10, 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the launch of the NYC Tenant Resource Portal, the first City-hosted online resource designed to help residential renters access free resources that assist in stabilizing housing situations and preventing evictions.
The portal was jointly launched by Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants (MOPT), the Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit (PEU), and the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT), and is free to all residential tenants across the City.
The portal compiles resources from multiple City agencies, Community Based Organizations, and City-funded nonprofit legal service organizations. Tenants answer a few questions in order to direct them to relevant resources, such as assistance navigating an illegal lockout or eviction. The portal also has up-to-date information about the general status of evictions in New York City Housing Court.
Tenants who do not have internet access can call 311 and ask for the Tenant Helpline, where callers will be connected to a Tenant Support Specialist to receive free individualized assistance.
Mayor de Blasio stated, “The City is doing everything in our power to support vulnerable families as they deal with a public health and economic crisis. With the launch of the Tenant Resource Portal, we are unveiling the first, City-hosted platform where tenants at risk of eviction can go to find a unified directory of all the housing-related resources they may need.”
“The creation of this portal has been underway for many months, and when COVID-19 hit we knew we had to pivot our focus towards helping tenants navigate the uncertainty of housing court and eviction during an unprecedented time in our City,” said Rachel Flaherty, Project Leader for the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants. “We’re excited and grateful to have partnered with the Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit and the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications to build this tool to provide New Yorkers with more clarity on housing court and eviction – two things that are never easy to navigate, but especially right now.”
By: Victoria Agosta (Victoria is the CityLaw intern and a New York Law School student, Class of 2022.)