As N.Y. eviction moratorium comes to an end, lawmakers push Hochul to support ‘good cause’ bill
ALBANY — With the end of New York’s COVID eviction moratorium days away, a group of New York lawmakers are trying to convince Gov. Hochul to do some good.
Dozens of Democrats in the Senate and Assembly, as well as members of the City Council and other local leaders, sent a letter to the governor Wednesday calling on her to back a long-stalled piece of legislation that would guarantee tenants the right to renew a lease and essentially place a cap on how much landlords can increase rent.
The push for the “Good Cause Eviction” bill comes as Hochul admitted there’s little chance of the state extending the state’s pandemic-prompted hold on evictions, which expires on Jan. 15.
“After over a year of temporary, pandemic-era protections New Yorkers need permanent solutions,” the lawmakers write. “We believe that Good Cause Eviction is the best way to prevent hundreds of thousands of households from displacement as pandemic-era interventions lapse.”
Good Cause, first proposed in 2019 but ultimately left out of a sweeping package of tenant-friendly reforms, has faced intense opposition from landlord groups who argue it will make evictions near impossible and severely limit profits.
The bill would give all tenants the automatic right to lease renewals and prevent landlords from evicting a renter without a good reason. Under the measure, a judge would have to decide if an eviction is for “good cause,” such as breaking the terms of a lease or failure to pay rent.
Letter to Hochul on Good Cause by New York Daily News on Scribd
Tenants would also be protected from eviction for nonpayment if a landlord increases rent by an “unreasonable” amount, essentially anything exceeding 3% of the annual rent or 1.5% of the region’s Consumer Price Index, whichever is higher.
Four upstate cities, Kingston, Hudson, Poughkeepsie and Albany, recently approved versions of “good cause” and several other states, including New Jersey, already have similar laws on the books.
Hochul has signaled support for some policies endorsed by housing groups and tenant advocates, such as the repeal of the state’s 421-a tax break, which in theory incentivizes the inclusion of affordable units in buildings.
However, the governor has remained mum on “good cause” and has so far made no move to extend the eviction moratorium.
“We talked about giving people a little more breathing room, giving them a little more relief on a short-term basis and that went all the way until Jan. 15,” Hochul said during a COVID briefing in Manhattan on Tuesday. “And what we want to do is let people know that that is concluding very shortly. I’m having conversations with the Legislature on what to do on this issue.”
The lawmakers who signed the letter, including 11 Dem senators and two dozen Assembly members as well as City Council members and city Comptroller Brad Lander, would like to see a stronger commitment from the administration as they warn of a wave of evictions should no action be taken.
“If nothing is done, and after the eviction moratorium eventually expires, it is only a matter of months before New York grapples with an unprecedented eviction crisis,” they wrote to Hochul.
Tenant advocates have planned multiple rallies and major disruptions this week in an attempt to ramp up pressure on Hochul and the Legislature. Protesters blocked traffic and piled furniture and moving boxes outside of the state Capitol on Tuesday.
“Pass Good Cause” was scrawled across a headboard and a couch used to block an entrance to the building.
A Hochul representative touted the governor’s past record on housing, including extending the eviction ban after first taking office, and said only that she “will continue working with the legislature to protect tenants and keep New Yorkers in their homes.”
#BREAKING: Our movement is taking over and blocking the entrance to the NYS Capital. We will not be moved. We will not be evicted. Pass #GoodCause and #HouseNY. pic.twitter.com/5OU39vIeAr
— Housing Justice For All (@housing4allNY) January 11, 2022
Landlord groups, meanwhile, continue to push back on the bill.
Last week, Joseph Strasburg, president of the Rent Stabilization Association, which represents building owners in the city, panned the legislation during a Senate hearing.
“It may as well be called the ‘lease for life’ bill because it would render the most basic provisions of rental apartment leases legally insignificant,” Strasburg wrote in submitted testimony. “It would strip landlords of their ownership rights and provide permanent tenancy at controlled, minimal rent increases to tenants of unregulated apartments for as long as they want to live there.”
With Tim Balk
