CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

I once faced eviction in a landlord’s scam. I live in an apartment in New York City and pay my rent every month, but my landlord once refused to process my rent checks for three months and I received an eviction notice.  When I got the notice, I was freaked out and asked a friend who was a lawyer what to do.

My lawyer friend said she’d go to NYC Housing Court with me to fight the eviction order.  Most surprisingly, the day before I was to report to Housing Court, my bank account showed that – mysteriously! – the three outstanding rent checks had been processed.  In Court, my case was dismissed, and my landlord’s lawyer said nothing and went on his way.

I’m a white guy who had a job and could cover the outstanding rent and had access to a lawyer, so I was technically not worried about the eviction.  But millions of Americans are not so fortunate.

“Ms. D,” a Hispanic woman from New York, said, “It started back in 2020 during the Pandemic.”  She added, “I live with my mother in the Bronx, and we got the rent-relief checks that were passed out and that helped us cover four months of rent. When our landlord received it, they – it shows in the rent ledger – doubled our rent,” she adds.

“We’d get an email from them [the landlord] saying we had a rent balance for something like $2,000 as they’ve been accumulating and, again, we would respond [and] tell them that the amount was incorrect and that they had to check out their accounting, because their accounting was always off,” Ms. D. explained. “But they’d never get back to us.”

“Despite us sending proof to their lawyers showing what out actual rent amount is per the DRIE [Disability Rent Increase Exemption] and proof of payments and disputing the amount – we have proof of all the payments we’ve made for all the years – they still went ahead and took us to court.”

For people evicted – or facing eviction – from their apartment or home, it can be a nightmare.  One’s life can be completely uprooted, especially if one has children.  All your possessions can be forcibly removed and dumped on the sidewalk.  Some may have enough money to move into temporary accommodations like an affordable hotel or motel; others may seek temporary living arrangements from relatives or friends; still others may seek help from local social services agencies; and some may end up on the street.

Ms. D added, “in June of this year [2025] part of the ceiling collapsed in my mother’s bedroom, and it was a really big hole. … It was a really bad situation.  We almost got all the stuff on top of us. So, when that happened, we called the super and we told you about this situation and you did nothing about it – and didn’t fix it for months, and now we have this big issue. And the super response was, ‘Well, did anyone get hurt? Did anyone die? – then you guys are fine.’”

“So, after we got the court date, I reached out to CASA [Community Action for Safe Apartments] to see how they could help us – and, honestly, they’ve been a lifeline for us,” added Ms. D. “We spoke to a lawyer, and they said, ‘This is open-and-shut as you’ve got all the proof.  It’s obvious that they are overcharging you guys and doing all this stuff, like harassment, and were very neglectful when it comes to repairs.’  So they were able to guide us on just how to move forward and what the legal system is, and that we have a right to counsel – and let the judge know that we want counsel for our case.”

The U.S. is facing a housing crisis.  As the National Low Income Housing Coalition reminds us, “There........

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