"Guaranteeing right to counsel for low-income tenants facing eviction would save New York City $320 million annually by reducing shelter costs and preserving affordable housing, according to a study commissioned by the New York City Bar Association's Pro Bono and Legal Services Committee.

The study, conducted pro bono by Stout Risius Ross, focused on a bill proposed in the New York City Council in 2014 by Manhattan Councilman Mark Levine to require the Office of Civil Justice to provide attorneys for tenants facing eviction or foreclosure. The bill was not brought up for a final vote.

The report says that providing counsel to tenants with an income within 200 percent of the poverty line would cost the city $199 million annually, but would save $259 million by keeping rent-regulated tenants in affordable units that would otherwise be built new under Mayor Bill de Blasio's plan to build or preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing.

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