The Tenants Advocacy Program (TAP) is a pro bono initiative by Cornell attorneys, law students, and undergraduate volunteers to provide free legal advice to residential (non-commercial) tenants in upstate New York, which excludes NYC, Long Island, and all other states. We can also provide free court representation to tenants in the following counties: Tompkins, Tioga, Steuben, Schuyler, Chemung, Monroe, Allegany, Broome, and Chenango. If you live in upstate NY but your county is not listed, that means we cannot represent you in court, but we can give you advice.

If your issue is urgent, please contact your local legal aid provider ASAP before completing this form. You can find your local provider by visiting LawHelpNY.org/find-legal-help.

For Ithaca tenants with urgent issues, call LawNY at 607-273-3667.

For Rochester tenants with urgent issues, call LASROC at 585-232-4090.

For Binghamton tenants with urgent issues, call LASMNY at 877-777-6152.

If you are seeking assistance from TAP, and your local legal aid provider declined to assist you, please fill out the application below. Response time will vary based on the urgency of the case.

For assistance in completing our intake form below, please call our hotline at (607) 301-1560 to speak with a volunteer or email tenantslegalhotline@gmail.com. If a volunteer is not available, please leave a message and we will get back to you shortly.

Our hotline accepts voicemails 24/7. Volunteers answer and return calls every day at the following times: Mondays at 8pm-9pm, Tuesdays at 7pm-8pm, Wednesdays at 4pm-5pm, Thursdays at 1:30pm-2:30pm and 8pm-9pm, Fridays at 2pm-3pm, Saturdays at 12pm-1pm, and Sundays at 11am-12pm and 5pm—6pm.

Please do NOT submit duplicate applications! Submitting repeated applications will not expedite your status. Our team responds to applications in the order they were received, with an exception for urgent cases that require priority. If you already submitted an application, please send any new updates on your issue to tenantslegalhotline@gmail.com.

To add attachments to your application, please click here.