On Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. in the New Paltz Village Hall, the Village Board and Town Council held a public hearing regarding the Local Law No. B Good Cause Eviction, a bill that, if passed, could adopt the current state law’s protections for New Paltz Village tenants.
Currently, the bill seeks to “appropriately [balance] the rights of tenants and property owners.” With the new adjustments made, it would “protect tenant rights without unduly burdening the local rental market.”
Good Cause Eviction (GCE) is a law that states, “landlords of homes covered by the new Good Cause Eviction requirements cannot end a tenancy without a ‘good cause’ reason.” The good cause reasons listed in state law primarily include non-payments of rent (unless the rent is “unreasonable”), illegal activity on the premises and violations of lease agreements. GCE has been in circulation for years, with Oregon and California being the first to adopt state legislation of similar language and statutes to that of New York’s. In New York, GCE was originally municipally-led, with cities such as Albany, Hudson, Beacon, Kingston, Newburgh and Poughkeepsie adopting this legislation into local law throughout 2021.
The Village Board of New Paltz has considered a Good Cause Eviction Law as far back as 2019, when concerns were first brought up in regards to illegal tenant evictions on March 27. These discussions would soon lead to the first draft of the bill, written in 2021. The bill intended to amend several portions of Article II of Chapter 129 Housing Standards and add a new article to the chapter to prohibit evictions without good cause. Its creation prompted a public comment period from Aug. 11 to Oct. 13, drawing in many local residents, outside bodies and other affiliates who made statements in support and in opposition.
After many revised drafts and continued public comment periods, the discussion carried until Jan. 26, 2022, when the Village Board decided to halt progress on the bill. At the time, the City of Albany, which was the first to pass a GCE law, was in the midst of a lawsuit against Albany landlords accusing them of “[violating] several state laws that limit local government involvement in regulating rent and evictions.” Mayor Tim Rogers cited concerns over potential litigation fees during that meeting, stating “I think what’s very different about our village versus [Kingston, Hudson, Poughkeepsie and the City of Albany] is that we are not in a position to comfortably pay for litigation.”
He continued, “It may be prudent to pause and wait and see what happens in the litigation that was filed against the City of Albany for their law.” Though there was some further discussion on exploring potential legal aids, work surrounding the bill went on hiatus.
On April 20, 2024, as part of Governor Kathy Hochul’s Fiscal Year 2025 State Budget, New York State signed Good Cause Eviction into law, going immediately into effect in New York City. Municipalities outside of the city have the choice to “opt-in” with the ability to set stricter definitions in regards to fair market rent (FMR) exceptions and small landlords. Currently, New York City exempts units with monthly rents greater than 245% of the Fair Market Rents (determined each year by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development) from the Good Cause Eviction law. They also define a small landlord as “a landlord of no more than ten units in the state.” Cities such as Albany, Poughkeepsie, and Ithaca have established their FMR exemption rates at 345% and Kingston at 300%, with all four cities limiting the definition of a small landlord to owning just one unit.
On Aug. 28, 2024, discussion reignited as a new draft was put forth by the Village Board. In it, they acknowledge the current state law as one that appropriately balances the rights of tenant and landlords, while also stating that the default FMR percentage and definition of a small landlord “does not appropriately reflect the rental market conditions of the Village of New Paltz and should be adjusted as permitted by law.”
Similarly to Albany, Poughkeepsie and Ithaca, this new legislation is seeking to set the FMR exemption at 345% and define small landlord to mean “a landlord of no more than one unit anywhere in the state of New York.” They seek to adopt all other provisions established by Article 6-A of the Real Property Law.
For the Many, a non-profit grassroots organization, has been leading the fight for Good Cause Eviction opt-ins across a number of Hudson Valley cities such as Kingston, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie and Beacon. According to their website, despite the statewide law, “landlords and real estate developers succeeded at weakening [GCE] — so we’re organizing to protect as many tenants as possible by passing local versions of the law.”
Members of For the Many have spoken favorably of the current bill. One of the organization’s members spoke at the most recent Sept. 25 Village Board meeting, mentioning the closing of Huckleberry and the ongoing housing crisis, urging the board members to pass this legislation.
“This is really something that’s spreading across upstate New York, but New Paltz could make history by being the first village to opt into the law. So, I urge you to do so in all due haste, because tenants and New Paltz can’t afford to wait any longer,” they said.
Deputy Mayor Alexandria Wojcik, who was a major driver of the initial GCE bill in 2021, expressed support for these provisions, reasoning that the board wants to “protect more than less tenants.”
The public hearing period in regards to Local Law No. B will be open until next week, according to Mayor Tim Rogers, with the Board of Trustees looking to close in and adopt the bill into the Village’s laws.