New York City is the first jurisdiction in the United States to guarantee counsel to low-income tenants facing eviction. The Clinic will provide students with the skills and background doctrine needed to work in this rapidly growing field. Selected students will work under faculty supervision and with advocates in civil legal services programs, as well as community-based and city-wide housing rights organizations. Students will have the opportunity to represent individual and organizational clients in litigation and to participate in housing-rights advocacy.

The seminar portion of the clinic will cover the laws and policies that foster and/or frustrate the ability to secure and retain decent, affordable housing in safe communities, including areas such as: housing financing and community development; housing discrimination; forms of housing tenure; housing subsidy programs; regulation of the landlord-tenant relationship; community organizing; eviction and foreclosure; gentrification and displacement; and homelessness.

This full-year clinic focused on housing provides students with the opportunity to represent clients in litigation and develop and implement advocacy campaigns. The clinic includes fieldwork and a co-requisite seminar component. Students are expected to regularly devote a minimum of 20 hours per week to the course.

Approved for the Experiential Learning Requirement. Enrollment is limited. Registration is binding. Application and interview are required, and the application can be found on the Office of Clinical and Experiential Learning section of the NYLS Portal.

Recommended for the Following Professional Pathways: Civil Rights/Civil Liberties; Government/Public Sector; Real Estate and Land Use; General Practice – Litigation/Dispute Resolution

8 Credits: Full Year Course
Fall: 4 credits
Spring: 4 credits