Housing Provider Must Help Tenants Avoid Eviction: Lawsuit

NEW YORK, NY— Under a new agreement reached in a federal lawsuit brought by three CAMBA tenants, the nonprofit supportive housing provider must take more steps to help tenants who fall behind on rent before trying to evict them.

CAMBA operates supportive housing: housing where residents have an apartment and access to services designed to help them remain stable and housed.

The nonprofit must help tenants apply for rental assistance, including New York City's Human Resources Administration One Shot Deal.

The One Shot Deal is a city program that can provide emergency financial help to eligible New Yorkers, including assistance with unpaid rent.

However, the City rejected about 75 percent of nearly 30,000 One Shot Deal requests related to rent arrears during the first three months of 2026, according to reporting from Gothamist.

Still, CAMBA must help eligible tenants apply for this type of assistance when they are dealing with rent arrears.

Not everyone qualifies, and the amount of assistance depends on the person's situation.

The City also requires applicants to demonstrate that they will be able to afford their rent going forward, according to the city's rules.

It also must consider payment plans and other ways to resolve unpaid rent.

The new rules apply when a tenant first receives a rent demand and again if the tenant faces a nonpayment case in court.

CAMBA must put the new procedures in place within three months after the agreement is signed.

Legal Aid will monitor CAMBA's compliance for 15 months.

The lawsuit claimed the organization and its affiliate, CHV 560 Winthrop Street LP, did not provide reasonable accommodations to tenants that could have helped them stay in their homes while dealing with unpaid rent.

The tenants claimed the organizations violated federal, state and city housing discrimination laws.

The settlement ends the lawsuit without a trial.

“Supportive housing is supposed to be a foundation for stability—not another pathway back into homelessness,” Maddie Reichman, a staff attorney in The Legal Aid Society's Civil Law Reform Unit, said in a statement.

What Happens If A Tenant Falls Behind On Rent?

Owing rent does not automatically mean CAMBA can move straight toward eviction. The provider must first take steps to help resolve the problem.

First, CAMBA must offer help with rental assistance and financial management.

If the tenant is working with CAMBA to get help paying the rent, CAMBA cannot start a new nonpayment case against that tenant under the agreement.

If a court case has already started, CAMBA must continue looking for ways to solve the unpaid-rent problem.

Before CAMBA's lawyers can ask for an eviction warrant, they must confirm that reasonable alternatives have been tried and that the tenant is not cooperating with efforts to get help.

The same confirmation is required before CAMBA can tell a marshal to carry out an eviction.

New York City has more than 37,000 congregate supportive housing units that have been created since the 1980s, according to the release.

Nearly 100 nonprofit organizations provide supportive housing across the five boroughs.