As rent reform continues to be debated in the Albany Legislature, housing groups across the Bronx are spreading word on the city’s already established Right to Counsel law, which advocates say tenants may still be unaware of even as it’s helped many stay inside their home.

The law, passed by the New York City Council in 2017 and fully implemented by 2022, offers tenants facing eviction with a free attorney to represent them in Bronx Housing Court. Still, families living within the Bronx zip codes of 10457, 10467, 10468, and 10462—where Right to Counsel has been activated—have still been evicted. The hope, according to housing advocates, is to spread word on Right to Counsel to stave off evictions at a time when a housing crunch has swept the city.

“The organizers in every borough are trying to get the message out,” said Randy Dillard, a tenant leader and member with Community Action for Safe Apartments, saying 84 percent of tenants who’ve been taken to Bronx Housing Court where Right to Counsel is active have won.

Dillard recommends tenants facing eviction should get an attorney than go out on their own or even leave without a fight. “If you know that you’re in the right get your attorney to fight your case,” said Dillard.

Tenants and advocates with CASA and Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC) rallied in front of the ever-busy Bronx Housing Court on May 9 calling out landlords who’ve weaponized the court, according to Omar Owens, a fellow tenant leader and member with CASA.

The housing groups accuse landlords of abusing existing rent laws, including Major Capital Improvements (MCI)—a state program where landlords pass renovation costs to tenants in the form of a permanent fee—as a means of ultimately kicking out tenants.

Norwood resident Flor Morales is among those fighting to stay in her apartment at 3425 Gates Pl., a residence she’s called home for 19 years. The property is owned and managed by the Morgan Group, which was approved to issue an MCI increase by the state Department of Homes and Community Renewal in 2017.

The MCI kicked in shortly after kitchen and bathroom renovations were completed, but Morales has refused to pay the extra $81 per room, or a total of $325, in MCI fees. Morales, who relies on her husband’s disability to pay for rent, says she’s still paying her rent, but is unsure whether she can stay in her apartment. So far, she has not received an eviction notice.

“Those things are falling apart already,” said Morales, of the new appliances in her kitchen and bathroom, saying the tiles are starting to come down.

Representatives from the Morgan Group plan to meet with tenants on May 22, said Morales.

Much of the fear over the existing rent laws is that they do little to stop apartments from no longer being rent-stabilized. Estimates show there are somewhere around one million rent-stabilized apartments across the city.

Empty rent-stabilized apartments trigger a vacancy bonus charge that allows landlords to increase rent by as much as 20 percent to the next occupants. Vacancy bonuses stand as one of the rent laws Democrats in Albany look to undo, citing them as one of the key reasons why rent-stabilized units are being lost.

Housing groups have recently upped the ante in spreading word on landlords that have consistently taken their tenants to court by listing them on a so-called Right to Counsel Worst Evictors 2018 List, using data from the U.S. Marshal’s Office which executes evictions. Among the landlords to have taken their tenants to court the most is Ved Parkash, who has taken 66 families to court in 2018, according to the list. Parkash has consistently been placed on the New York City Public Advocate’s Worst Landlord Watch List.

Along with Parkash, E&M Associates, Finkelstein Timberger East Real Estate, and the Morgan Group were also placed on the list based on the number of evictions. Each of the landlords were accompanied by boos from demonstrators outside housing court as their names were announced.

As a symbolic gesture, tenants served “eviction notices” to landlords as a sign of no-confidence.

“The Bronx is under attack. [Landlords] are burning it with MCIs,” said Owens, who’s lived in his apartment for several years. “We’re living through construction harassment.”

Owens said the building landlord, Finkelstein Timberger East Real Estate, issued an MCI in 2015 after renovations for windows and boiler were made. The fees were passed on, Owens said, forcing some tenants to leave because they couldn’t keep up with paying an extra $51 per room.

“You find them moving in the middle of the night moving out because they don’t want to go through the embarrassment of having to be evicted in broad daylight,” said Owens.

The law will be fully implemented by 2022, when the city’s entire housing courts system will have available attorneys.