A law that offers free legal help for low-income residents fighting eviction should be expanded faster, said Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. 

In late May, Diaz sent a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio urging him to speed up the availability of the Right to Counsel Act, suggesting de Blasio move the provision by 2020 instead.

Right to Counsel is already in effect in some parts of the Bronx. It would be in full effect by July 2022. But Diaz, an early contender for Mayor in 2021, finds the matter more pressing.

“Our City’s tenants simply cannot wait,” Diaz insisted in his letter to de Blasio. “We must work harder to keep them in their homes and neighborhoods, rather than deal with a crisis when they are evicted and forced into the shelter system.”

Diaz’s urging comes amid a homelessness crisis that’s ballooned under de Blasio’s tenure. Lack of affordable housing is to blame, but also the uptick in the number of landlords evicting their tenants out of their apartments. By fulfilling Right to Counsel two years early, Diaz hopes to stop the homelessness crisis at its root.

Diaz demands de Blasio to take responsibility, writing, “…it is incumbent upon your administration to show the leadership and managerial zeal to take the necessary action at a rapid rate to provide indigent tenants with representation in housing court.”

Since 2013, city funding for legal assistance in housing court has increased from $6 million to $77 million, and since 2014 eviction rates are down 27 percent. The City plans to increase funding to $93 million in 2019.

A statement from de Blasio’s administration emphasizes improvements already made, but does not mention moving up the deadline for Right to Counsel. “We’ve already served over 200,000 New Yorkers and as we work to fully implement universal access, we continue to work aggressively to level the playing field for tenants…” said spokesperson Jaclyn Rothenberg.