Tenants Advocacy Program
Providing free legal assistance to residential tenants in upstate New York.
Response time varies based on urgency of a case. If you are an Ithaca tenant in a legal emergency, please call LawNY at 607-273-3667.
Partners:
About Us
Founded in 2020, The Tenants Advocacy Program (TAP) is a Cornell Law School pro bono program where seasoned full-time attorneys, law students, and recent law graduates work together year-round to provide free legal assistance to residential tenants in upstate New York. Free legal representation is primarily provided by law students enrolled in the Tenants Advocacy Practicum under attorney supervision.
The Tenants Advocacy Program was recently directed by Michaela Azemi at Cornell Law’s Office of Public Service. TAP is funded in part by the Legal Assistance of Western New York (LawNY).
How do we work?
Tenants with housing-related concerns may directly call our hotline at (607) 301-1560. Over the phone, volunteers can inform you about your rights under the Tenants’ Rights Guide, direct you to the appropriate legal and non-legal resources, and move forward with preparing your application to request legal advice from Cornell Law School’s Tenants Advocacy Project team of lawyers and supervised law students.
If your application is accepted upon review by our legal team, levels of assistance vary on a case-by-case basis ranging from brief advice to full representation in court. We provide free legal advice to all tenants in upstate New York, and free court representation in the following 7 counties: Tompkins, Tioga, Steuben, Schuyler, Chemung, Monroe and Allegany. TAP has handled cases related to evictions, security deposits, leasing, rent, and related fees, rent regulated apartments, notices and entry, habitability and repairs, discrimination, and other housing-related emergencies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our Impact
4,668
calls fielded
124
tenants represented
65
evictions prevented
1,382
tenants helped
$100,000+
recovered for tenants
18
housing units repaired or improved
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No, we do not provide legal assistance for landlords. We assist tenants only.
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No, we will never contact anyone about your inquiry without your permission. We practice strict confidentiality for the security and safety of all our clients.
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No, we do not have an official income limit. Although the majority of our clients are low-income, 20% of our clients are not.
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If you called our hotline and nobody answered, please leave a voice message with your name, phone number, best days/times to reach you, and whether your issue is urgent or non-urgent. We will do our best to get back to you as soon as we can. You may also email TenantsLegalHotline@gmail.com and one of our volunteers will reach back out to you.
Please keep in mind that our hotline is entirely run by volunteers who are often students, so their availability to monitor the hotline will depend on their class schedules.
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Our intake volunteers who manage the hotline at 607-301-1560 are not equipped to give you legal advice, but they are able to recite relevant aspects of the Tenants' Rights Guide with you. They cannot tell you if your rights have been violated or not, but they can tell you what the law says in the category concerning your issue. To consult with an attorney about how the law applies to your specific situation, volunteers can send an application to our legal team on your behalf.
You may also choose to access our Tenants' Rights Guide and complete our application for legal assistance online without a volunteer.
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We do not have a physical office for walk-in visits yet. All client-facing operations are currently remote. Once our team has received and reviewed your application, we can meet with you in person at an agreed location to discuss your inquiry further and exchange/sign any documents if needed.
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No, we have assisted tenants from all over upstate New York, including but not limited to the following counties: Monroe, Allegany, Chemung, Steuben, Tioga, Chenango, Ulster, Broome, Cameron, Oneida, Fairfax, Schuyler and so on! Although we are based in Ithaca, we do not limit our services to Ithaca/Tompkins County tenants.
Meet the Leadership Team
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William Niebel
MANAGING ATTORNEY
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Kathryn Krause Wozer
STAFF ATTORNEY
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Francheska Reed
OPERATIONS MANAGER
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Amanda Nudelman
INTAKE COORDINATOR