Eviction Update for Public Housing

To assist our members who operate public housing, we are providing an important reminder to highlight a required update to a complaint when an eviction is filed in certain circumstances. You may want to remind your legal counsel of this new requirement effective August 1, 2023. 

Specifically, when the eviction action is for breach of the lease and the defendant lives in public housing, the complaint must include notice on the first page of the complaint in bold 12-point type: “If financially unable to obtain counsel, the defendant has the right to a court-appointed attorney.” Please note that this right to counsel does not apply to non payment of rent actions. We have provided a memo with the relevant session law for ease of reference.