Good Cause Eviction Proposal by NYS Shares Some Similarities of a Rent Regulation Bill

Although some other states currently have “good cause eviction” legislation in place, they are either new or their impact has not been extensively studied. However, the recently proposed legislation in Albany intended to put rent-gauging protections in place is “tougher than anywhere in the nation.” An argument raised within a new policy brief published by the Furman Center at New York University, claims that “the New York proposal is essentially an effort at extending rent regulation to free market apartments and will have unintended consequences” such as “giving landlords a benchmark for raising rent prices annually for all tenants.” According to the Furman Center brief, “in principle, good cause is intended to enhance tenant stability by limiting evictions and refusals to renew leases or continue tenancies, and by discouraging unexpectedly large rent increases.” A bill by Senator Julia Salazar and Assemblywoman Pamela Hunter introduced in 2023 provides the only publicly available specifics about what a good cause requirement would involve in New York State. Rental units not already rent-regulated, sublets, and leases within co-ops and condo would be affected based on the proposed bill’s definition of “residential premises” — a total estimated to be about 710,000 apartments. Furthermore, the proposed bill “treats non-payment as “good cause” only if no part of the rent due stemmed from rent creases above the larger of 3 percent or 1.5 times the previous year’s annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) change.” Policies vary across other states and municipalities that have good cause legislation, with some imposing specific caps relative to a specified CPI that are either part of, or as complementary to, their good cause requirements, while others do not impose rent caps or other forms of rent regulation.

It has been pointed out that although New York policymaker’s efforts to promote tenant protections and improve stability is commendable, it “may discourage investment in maintaining existing rental housing and building new homes; raise the screening hurdles households seeking rental housing face; and increase rents in smaller buildings that have typically offered some of the lowest, and most stable, rents.” With that in mind, the brief concludes that policymakers who have endorsed the “principle” of good cause must strike a balance and “craft an actual protection that helps the vulnerable tenants without unduly undermining the interests of other tenants, owners, and all those New Yorkers who need a more reliable supply of affordable, high-quality housing.

Source:    https://www.thecity.nyc/2024/02/28/good-cause-bill-could-blow-back-on-tenants/

Source:  https://furmancenter.org/files/publications/Balancing_act.pdf