A Guidebook to Rights and Responsibilities
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A Guidebook to Rights and Responsibilities A Project of the New York Alliance for Inclusion & Innovation Seth Greenman Master Housing Navigator Shameka Andrews Community Outreach Coordinator, SANYS • • • 2020 • • • A Guidebook to Rights and Responsibilities 2020 Table of Contents How to Use this Guidebook . 3. Living in Your Own Place . 4 2 What is Fair Housing? . 4 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 . 4 Reasonable Accommodations / Modifications . 5 Support Animals . 5. Interview Series – Living in Your Own Place . 6 Additional Resources . 7 Leases and Rental Agreements . 8 Tenant Rights . 8 Know Your Terms . 9 Homeownership . 11 Fair Lending & Housing Counseling . 11 Homeownership Preparation: Are You Ready? . 11 Professional Inspection . 13 Repairs & Maintenance . 13 Budgeting . 14 Everything Credit . 14 Emergency Financial Supports . 14 Budgeting for Your Place . 16 Saving for the Future . .17 Acknowledgment . .18 . The New York Alliance for Inclusion and Innovation (NY Alliance) 240 Washington Avenue Extension, Suite 501 Albany, NY 12203-0305 518-795-3590 . Seth Greenman, Master Housing Navigator Shameka Andrews, Community Outreach Coordinator, SANYS A Guidebook to Rights and Responsibilities . 2020 How to Use this Guidebook How to Use this Guidebook Video Introduction The journey of living in your own place requires learning about the rights you have as a tenant or homeowner as well as the responsibilities that are attached to those rights. Whether you are currently living in your own place or planning to make a move in the future, educating yourself about your rights and responsibilities is an important step in the process. While many resources are available to support you in your journey, it can be difficult knowing where to look. In A Guidebook to Rights & Responsibilities, we have pulled together online resources from across New York State in a variety of topics relating to tenant or homeowner rights and responsibilities. The goal of this project is to provide you with multiple resources in each topic area so that you can find the information you need in a format that works for you. Additionally, we conducted the Living in Your Own Place interview series with people who are already living independently in different parts of New York State. They shared their lived experiences of the responsibilities they have in maintaining their apartments and following the terms of their leases. We hope these candid conversations can be a starting point for you in thinking about and preparing for your own place . In the Guidebook, you will find resources categorized in the following modules: Living in Your Own Place – This module provides links to resources in a variety of topic areas related to fair housing. You will find resources that review the rights you have under both federal and state 3 fair housing laws as well as changes that occurred in 2019 with the passing of New York State’s Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act. You will also find resources that unpack your right to pursue reasonable accommodations or modifications where you live or your right to live with a support animal. Finally, take some time to listen to interviews from the Living in Your Own Place series to consider what responsibilities you will have as you start your own journey. Leases and Rental Agreements – Resources in this module will cover the rights you have as a tenant in New York State so that you will know how to identify if a landlord or a housing policy is violating them. Many of these resources provide clarity on terms found in your lease or rental agreement as well as the legal requirements surrounding the security deposit process. Homeownership – If you are considering homeownership as a future goal, the resources in this module provide an overview of your rights and responsibilities related to fair lending practices, buying a home, and maintaining your home. Check out the links on preparing to buy a home to consider if you are ready to take this step or review the information on home inspections for recommendations on this important part of the home buying process. You will also find resources on the role of housing counselors along with a search tool for identifying the housing counseling agencies in your area. of Contents Table Back to Budgeting – A key aspect of living in your own place is financial stability. Credit history, budgeting, saving, and knowing where to go in an emergency are all important aspects of building this stability. Whether you already live in your own place or are preparing to move, we recommend starting with the brief webinars by Melinda Burns in each topic area of this module. From there, use the additional links to access a variety of resources to support you in building long-term financial success. Knowledge of your rights and responsibilities is a powerful tool for living successfully in your own place. Therefore, we hope the Guidebook can be an ongoing resource for you with each step that you take, and we wish you the best on your journey. A Guidebook to Rights and Responsibilities . 2020 NYAII . 2020 Living in Your Own Place What is Fair Housing? The Housing Council at PathStone in Rochester provides a summary of important points related to Fair Housing, including the rights of people with disabilities as well as families with children. Additionally, this resource includes a Q & A section with real world examples of fair housing situations. It is available in both English and Spanish. Fair Housing Resource - English Vivienda Justa: Lo que significa para todos LawNY provides general guidance on disability-related issues and fair housing, including answers to commonly asked questions. 4 Fair Housing Disability Issues The New York State Office of the Attorney General provides this brochure highlighting key points related to fair housing in both English and Spanish. The third link provided is a summary of fair housing topics provided on the Civil Rights Bureau webpage of the Attorney General’s Office. Fair Housing brochure Vivienda Justa Fair Housing - Civil Rights Bureau U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides a brief overview of the main points of the federal Fair Housing Act as well as a YouTube playlist of 28 videos that cover different fair housing topics . HUD Fair Housing overview Fair Housing YouTube playlist (28 videos) Extensive information about the Fair Housing Act, including a copy of the legislation, is provided by the U.S. Department of Justice in the following links: The Fair Housing Act - page 1 The Fair Housing Act - page 2 New York State legislation regarding fair housing and equal rights is captured in Article 15 of the Executive laws of New York. Article 15 - Human Rights Law of New York State Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 The New York State Office of the Attorney General provides this What you Need to Know document, which highlights in bulleted summaries all the legal changes in rent laws across the state. These Back to Table of Contents Table Back to summaries cover a variety of topics, including security deposit caps, limits on late payment fees, rights to a receipt, ways to get security deposits back, etc. Changes in New York State Rent Law A Guidebook to Rights and Responsibilities . 2020 Living in Your Own Place LawNY provides a general summary of new protections for tenants that were put in place in 2019 when the New York State Governor signed the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019. New Protections for NYS Renters Detailed information regarding New York State Senate bill S6458, commonly known as the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, can be found at: Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 Reasonable Accommodations / Modifications Disability Rights New York provides the following written fact sheet on topics related to housing for people with disabilities. Specifically, this fact sheet provides general guidance on rights related to reasonable accommodations and modifications in addition to general fair housing information. Housing Rights for People with Disabilities HUD provides some written guidance on their website regarding a tenant’s right to reasonable accommodations and modifications, including a brief overview of the different laws that apply. Additionally, they provide some examples along with a question and answer section with links to additional information. 5 HUD - Reasonable Accommodations and Modifications Support Animals Disability Rights New York provides free training on the differences between service animals and emotional support animals. They also help to debunk some myths that exist about service animals. Check out their closed-captioned videos below: Service Animals vs Emotional Support Animals Service Animal Myths Additionally, Disability Rights New York provides the following written facts sheet on issues related to assistance animals in housing . Assistance Animals in Housing The New York State Office of the Attorney General provides this brochure highlighting the rights of of Contents Table Back to New Yorkers to have a service animal in public accommodations and housing. Service Animals brochure U.S. Service Animals is an online registry for service animals and emotional support animals. They provide written education on the fair housing act and a tenant’s right to have support animals, including what information you need to share with your landlord. Emotional Support Animals and the Fair Housing Act A Guidebook to Rights and Responsibilities . 2020 NYAII . 2020 Living in Your Own Place Interview Series – Living in Your Own Place The Living in Your Own Place interview series begins with the Be a Good Neighbor panel discussion. Tune in as Mike Rogers, Uly Ramos, Tammy & John Fritz, and Erica Martinez share both the good and the bad about having neighbors and how they have navigated different situations in their own places across different regions of New York State.