Tenant groups press for REST Act, right to counsel and eviction diversion as vouchers expand

Tenant advocates and legal services groups used the hearing to press for a set of tenant‑centered measures: a fix to the local opt‑in process for rent stabilization (often referred to at the hearing as the REST Act or opt‑in reforms), a statewide right‑to‑counsel for eviction proceedings, winter eviction moratoria, and sustained funding for eviction prevention programs and vouchers.

Genevieve Brand of Housing Justice for All described the human cost of unaffordable rents, urging a legislative fix to the opt‑in process that she said has kept more than a dozen cities from implementing local rent stabilization. "Allowing this process to remain frozen for another year would be political malpractice," she told the committees.

Legal Services NYC and the Right to Counsel coalition urged $260 million in FY27 to create a statewide right‑to‑counsel program, citing New York City’s experience where tenant representation reduced evictions and default judgments significantly. Advocates also recommended an eviction diversion initiative (state‑funded caseworkers and nonprofit administrators) to resolve nonpayment cases earlier in court and reduce harms; a report released at the hearing outlined a model that ties landlord petitions for subsidized properties to diversion pathways.

Speakers emphasized that vouchers and legal supports are complementary: vouchers reduce the economic drivers of eviction while legal representation and diversion reduce procedural displacement. Lawmakers asked about costs, program design and whether pilot funding should be scaled; advocates pushed to make the HAVP permanent and to codify right‑to‑counsel enforcement.