A court ruling requires landlords to hold apartments for homeless families while tenant casework is processed by preserving one-month unit-hold payments to landlords. The Legal Aid Society sued the city's Department of Social Services after the agency moved to end the incentive, arguing processing times had shortened. The Aug. 21 ruling upheld a temporary restraining order and followed a prior preliminary injunction against a planned June 30 termination of the program, active since 2017. Plaintiffs argue unit holds are critical to moving people from shelters into permanent housing. Christine Quinn praised the decision and criticized the Adams administration's actions.
Homeless families and individuals in NYC shelters waiting for permanent homes won a victory in court on Thursday that requires landlords to hold their apartments while tenant casework is being processed. The ruling upholds a temporary restraining order barring Mayor Eric Adams and the city's Department of Social Services (DSS) from eliminating the unit hold incentive one-month rent payments to landlords that ensure apartments are held for prospective tenants while their housing paperwork gets processed.
Plaintiffs in the case maintain that unit holds are important for getting people out of shelters and into permanent housing. Christine Quinn, president and CEO of Win, and former speaker of the NYC Council, applauded the judge's decision while criticizing the Adams administration. New Yorkers are crying out for change, yet it seems the Adams administration will go to the ends of the Earth, including through frivolous legal action, to make life even more difficult for New Yorkers in need, Quinn said.
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