United Tenants Of Albany Inc

What United Tenants Of Albany Inc does

United Tenants of Albany (UTA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit tenant advocacy organization founded in 1973 in Albany, New York, by Maria and Roger Markovics after they relocated from a University of Michigan rent strike organizing effort and a stint at Providence House (Catholic Charities). The organization provides free direct services to low-income tenants in Albany County and the broader Capital District, including emergency rental assistance (typically up to ~$1,000 per household), housing counseling, court advocacy in City of Albany, City of Troy, and smaller Albany County Courts, fair housing enforcement as a New York State Emerging Fair Housing Office, tenant advocacy for habitability and landlord disputes, and tenant organizing that supports formation of tenant unions and associations. Service delivery is community-led, reaching over 1,000 walk-in tenants annually through a Monday-Thursday office at 255 Orange Street, a housing hotline (518-436-8997 x3), and direct court presence.

UTA has no proprietary technology platform; its offerings are direct human services supported by a small staff of approximately 9 people (Executive Director Canyon Ryan since 2022, Finance & Operations Officer Jennifer Krstovich, Intake Coordinator Hilary Rasch, two Housing Counselors, two Fair Housing Investigative Coordinators and an Outreach Specialist, two Court Advocates including a Mobile Court Advocate, two Tenant Organizing Fellows, and a Tenant Organizer). The organization does not develop, license, or sell software; technology use is limited to a WordPress-based public website with service descriptions, rights resources, and a "Get Help Now" intake form, along with standard social media presence on Facebook and Instagram.

Revenue is grant- and donation-dependent and is not publicly disclosed. Documented funding sources include NYS Homes and Community Renewal, the Emergency Solutions Grant through the City of Albany, Catholic Charities of the Albany Diocese, corporate donors (e.g., KeyBank Foundation), foundation grants (B'nai B'rith Gideon Foundation), small grassroots rounds (e.g., Honest Weight Co-Op raising $2,255), and individual donors. Recent programmatic funding includes the EPIC (Eviction Prevention & Intervention Collaborative) partnership, which brought $100,000 from the City of Albany, $160,000 from Albany County, and $75,000 from CARES of NY. UTA operates on a free-to-beneficiary pricing model with eligibility screening for rental assistance (Albany County residency, income qualification, rent at or below Fair Market Rent). Strategic priorities mix direct services with policy advocacy at local, state, and national levels, including leadership roles in Housing Justice For All (80+ organizations) and co-led successes such as the 2025 $200M Housing Access Voucher Program pilot and Albany's 2024 adoption of the updated Good Cause Eviction law, the first NYS municipality to do so.

Name

United Tenants Of Albany Inc

Legal name

United Tenants of Albany, Inc.

Website

https://unitedtenantsalbany.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

United Tenants of Albany is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1973 that provides free direct housing services to low-income tenants in Albany County, including emergency rental assistance, court advocacy, fair housing enforcement, and tenant organizing, while pursuing housing justice policy at state and local levels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tenant Advocacy Services

NAICS

Community Housing Services (62422)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAEAB

Housing Assistance & Homeless Services

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Social Services & Community Support (Food, Housing, Family)

SECONDARYBPAIANAA

Public & Affordable Housing Programs (Subsidies, Vouchers, Public Housing)

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Housing, Urban Planning & Community Development

Keywords

• Tenant advocacy services
• Housing counseling
• Emergency rental assistance
• Fair housing enforcement
• Community organizing

Headquarters

HQ city

Albany

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: UTA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization relying on generous contributions from individuals and grants to sustain work advocating for housing justice and supporting tenants across the Capital Region. Funding sources include NYS Homes and Community Renewal, Emergency Solutions Grant through City of Albany, Catholic Charities of the Albany Diocese, corporate donors, and numerous individual donors.
2. Government and Foundation Grants: Funding from government entities and foundations including NYS Homes and Community Renewal, Emergency Solutions Grant through City of Albany, and Catholic Charities of the Albany Diocese. EPIC program funding included $100,000 from City of Albany, $160,000 from Albany County, and $75,000 from CARES of NY.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

United Tenants of Albany provides direct services to tenants in Albany County, including emergency rental assistance, housing counseling, court advocacy in eviction proceedings, fair housing investigations, and tenant organizing support. The organization operates a walk-in office and housing hotline, assists more than 1,000 walk-in tenants annually, and helps build tenant unions and associations across the Capital Region. It is recognized as an Emerging Fair Housing Office in New York State.

Product overview

United Tenants of Albany (UTA) offers a unified set of direct service programs for tenant advocacy and housing support rather than a modular software product. The core offerings include Emergency Rental Assistance & Housing Counseling, Fair Housing Enforcement, Court Advocacy, Tenant Advocacy, Tenant Organizing, and Community Organizing & Policy Advocacy. These services work together to prevent evictions, support tenant rights, and advance housing justice across Albany County. UTA also provides supplementary resources such as Monthly Apartment Listings and educational materials on tenant rights and responsibilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Emergency Rental Assistance and Housing Counseling

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,000 walk-in tenants assisted annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and moderate.

• Housing Justice For All (HJ4A)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUTA is a core campaign leader in this statewide network of 80+ organizations working on housing priorities including Housing Access Voucher Program, Rent Stabilization expansion, Good Cause Eviction, TOPA, and Social Housing Development Authority. UTA co-led the campaign that won $200M 4-year pilot for Housing Access Voucher Program.
• Housing for All (HFA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHFA has partnered with UTA on Inclusionary Zoning, affordable development projects in Albany and Bethlehem, and the creation of the Albany County Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
• Albany Justice Coalition (AJC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUTA members are active in AJC, which originated from the campaign for Proposal 7 and the Community Police Review Board. AJC continues to support housing protections and anti-displacement efforts.
• National Union of the Homeless – Albany ChaptercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn partnership with the Poor People's Campaign, UTA works to build power among unsheltered and unhoused tenants, fighting policies that criminalize homelessness. UTA's Tenant Organizer Bebhinn Francis is also an organizer with the National Union of the Homeless.
• Housing Courts Must Change (HCMC)moderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerUTA serves on the steering committee, advocating for Right to Counsel in all eviction cases statewide, Winter Eviction Moratorium, and Clean Hands Law.
• Right to the City AlliancemoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerUTA is part of the Renters Rights Committee, supporting national campaigns to fight corporate landlords and real estate speculation.
• Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New YorkmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerUTA partnered with Legal Aid in designing EPIC (Eviction Prevention & Intervention Collaborative) program to address legal representation imbalance in eviction court. Legal Aid now administers EPIC with focus on rental assistance and non-court-based mediation.
• Albany Law SchoolmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerUTA partnered with Albany Law School to design EPIC program to address massive imbalance of legal representation in eviction court (less than 3% of tenants had lawyers while over 90% of landlords did).
• Alternatives2DisplacementminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdminister EPIC program alongside Legal Aid with focus on rental assistance and non-court-based mediation.
• Citizen Action of New YorkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-time partner in housing justice campaigns including Good Cause Eviction, Inclusionary Zoning, and tenant organizing. UTA organizing with Citizen Action on state and local policy.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Right to the City Alliance: National alliance of grassroots housing justice organizations, including UTA via its Renters Rights Committee. Comparable tenant-justice mission but operates as a national umbrella rather than a direct service provider.
• Housing Justice for All: New York statewide coalition of 80+ tenant and homeless-advocacy organizations in which UTA is a core campaign leader. Comparable advocacy mission at a much broader, statewide coalition scale rather than single-city direct services.

Others

• Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region: Albany-based nonprofit CDFI created by UTA co-founder Roger Markovics with Kirby White. While focused on financing affordable housing rather than tenant services, it is a sister organization sharing lineage, leadership networks, and overlapping Albany housing-justice mission.

Direct peers

• Chhaya Community Development Corporation: NYC-based community organization serving low-income South Asian and other immigrant tenants with housing counseling, tenant organizing, and anti-displacement advocacy. Comparable tenant-rights service portfolio, though with a stronger immigrant-community specialization.
• Met Council on Housing: New York City-wide tenant advocacy organization offering tenant organizing, counseling, and policy advocacy. Closely analogous operating model to UTA — direct services + tenant organizing + legislative campaigns — though at a much larger scale and limited to NYC.
• City Life / Vida Urbana: Boston-based grassroots tenant and housing justice organization focused on tenant organizing, anti-displacement campaigns, and foreclosure defense. UTA intake coordinator Hilary Rasch previously worked there as a tenant organizer; directly comparable community-organizing-driven model.
• Homeless and Travelers Aid Society (HATAS): Albany-based nonprofit providing shelter, homelessness prevention, and supportive housing navigation. UTA board member Laurie Buitrago works at HATAS as a Permanent Supportive Housing Navigator; both organizations serve overlapping low-income Albany populations via housing-related casework.
• Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York: Provides free civil legal services including housing/eviction defense in the Capital Region. UTA co-designed the EPIC program with Legal Aid, and the two organizations co-administer eviction-prevention and rental-assistance services in Albany — directly comparable tenant-protection mission and geography.

Regional players

• Tenants Union of Washington State: Statewide tenant rights organization offering counseling, education, organizing, and policy advocacy in Washington. Comparable service mix (rental counseling, tenant organizing, fair housing education) but operating in a different region than UTA's Capital District focus.

Emerging players

• Community Service Society of New York: NYC-based antipoverty organization with programs including housing counseling, benefits access, and policy advocacy. Comparable direct-service-plus-advocacy model though with broader social services scope than UTA's tenant-rights specialization.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/UnitedTenantsofAlbany
• Instagraminstagram.com/unitedtenantsalbany
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/united-tenants-of-albany-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles25 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about United Tenants Of Albany Inc