Albany’s “Good Cause” Eviction Bill Struck Down by Judge

During the Pandemic, Albany legislators — not to be confused with state legislators — passed a “Good Cause” eviction bill which was meant to enhance tenants’ rights, especially during a period of such uncertainty. The bill stated that landlords could only evict one of their tenants if they could prove “good cause”, such as failure to pay rent, and it also precluded them from raising rent by more than 5% annually. Many landlords claimed that this infringed on their property rights, and a NY State Judge agreed with this notion on Thursday by stating that the bill was inconsistent with NY State law regarding property use.

Albany was the first city in the state to pass such a bill, and prior to this ruling, advocates of the bill had hoped to implement similar bills on a city-by-city basis, however, in light of this ruling, attempting such a strategy now would be impossible. While there was some sentiment to pass a state-wide eviction bill during the legislative session which ended about a month ago, it ultimately failed to garner enough votes due to concerns about upcoming elections and fundraising. Perhaps legislators will be more inclined to pass a similar, state-wide bill during the next legislative session, but there are also concerns regarding the constitutionality of such a bill, but we will have to wait and see in order to find out.

Questions on how this might affect you? Call us today at (718)-554-6445!