|
RCBJ-Audible (Listen For Free)
 |
The Village Unanimously Passes Good Cause Eviction Law; First Village In New York State To Adopt GCE Measures
Nyack’s Village Board last week became the first village in New York State to opt-in to the state’s “Good Cause Eviction” (GCE) law. Cities that have adopted the recently enacted law include Albany, Kingston, Ithaca, Poughkeepsie, Beacon, and Newburgh but no other villages have yet to adopt the newly enacted state law.
“We are the first village in the New York state to pass the GCE law,” said Nyack Mayor Joseph Rand, adding it was an arduous journey but one with a satisfying end.
The GCE limits when landlords can remove tenants or deny them lease renewals. It specifies that landlords cannot raise rents above a statutory threshold of 10 percent or 5 percent plus the localized Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever is lower. Localized CPI is based on the increase in “fair market rent” (FMR), which is determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, published each year on or before August 1st. For Rockland County the FMR for a one-bedroom unit is $2,451; for a two-bedroom unit, it’s $2,752.
Based on the current CPI, the threshold annual rent increase is limited to 8.8 percent.
“The highlight of the new law for tenants is that if your landlord raises your rent by more than 8.8 percent, you can challenge the rent increase,” said Rand.
Tenants can still be removed or denied a lease renewal when a unit requires significant repairs, such as electrical, plumbing, or structural repairs, tenants engage in nuisance-type conduct, such as selling drugs, violent behavior, or chronic late rent payments, or use the premises for an illegal purpose. Other exemptions apply such as when a building is subject to demolition, or a unit is being removed from the market, or if a landlord wants to recapture a unit for his own use or the use of a relative.
In Nyack, the law applies to owners of one or more units, but there are numerous exemptions, including owner-occupied buildings of 10 or fewer units; units covered by other rent stabilization; units in public housing; condominiums and coops; units where the rent is 345 percent above the average rent for a similar unit; and units in buildings built after 2009.
Last November, the village tracked rents over a five-year period from data based on the local Multiple Listing Service. The study showed the average rental price is 32.7 percent higher than it was in 2019; the average price-per-square-foot is 39.5 percent higher than it was in 2019, and the average rental unit rents for 3.6 percent more than the listing price – indicative of a bidding war on existing rentals.
The average rental price in Nyack increased 9.2 percent from 2022 to 2023, and 13 percent from 2021 to 2022, according to the survey.
“Good Cause Eviction provides fundamental protections to tenants who are not lucky enough to live in regulated housing,” according to Michael McKee, treasurer of TenantsPac. “But bottom line, landlords will no longer be able to evict tenants for any reason or no reason, including retaliation.”
Tenants facing rent increases above the threshold or evictions in protected apartments will have the opportunity to defend themselves in court. Landlords in these building cannot require a tenant to waive their rights under GCE law. Such a waiver would be considered void in court.
Tenants without leases and month-to-month leases are also protected.
Newer developments in Nyack such as the Pavion, Gateway Lofts, Diana Place and The Montclare are exempt because they were constructed after 2009.
“I am grateful to the board; this is dear to me,” said Alex Bursztein, executive director with the Legal Aid Society. “Evictions and being dispossessed are incredibly harmful to children, to the community at large. It doesn’t seem just.”
“I want to stress that I don’t see this bill as ‘anti-landlord,’ at least not ‘anti-good-landlord,” Rand said. “I supported this bill because I believe that allowing landlords up to an 8.8 percent yearly rental increase on renewals is reasonable, particularly when we have such an affordability crisis in Nyack.” The village board passed the GCE law unanimously last week.
The Emergency Tenant Protection Act
Village Trustees are continuing to take steps toward implementation of the Emergency Tenant Protection Act (ETPA), despite two unsuccessful attempts over the past year. The ETPA requires the village to declare a “housing emergency,” which is defined as a vacancy rate below 5 percent in buildings constructed before 1974 with six or more units. Municipalities can adjust the number of units under the ETPA to suit local needs. The law would subject those buildings to rent stabilization, limits on eviction, and protection against retaliation. However, buildings covered under the ETPA are exempt from the provisions of the GCE.
In Rockland County, only the Village of Spring Valley and the Town of Haverstraw have opted into the ETPA. In Haverstraw, the ETPA only applies to apartment complexes with more than 100 units. In Rockland County, about 2,000 units are rent stabilized.
In its first effort to adopt the ETPA, the Village of Nyack made an error in calculating the vacancy rates. This derailed its passage. In the second attempt, which included more buildings, the vacancy rate in the survey exceeded 5 percent. The village continues to study the availability of rental units, aiming to balance the interest of tenants without harming smaller landlords.
Statewide enabling legislation passed as part of New York’s 2024-2025 budget allows municipal governments outside New York City to opt-in to the GCE legislation and define its scope to suit local needs. Prior to passage of the statewide enabling law, municipalities attempted to pass good cause eviction laws, but those efforts didn’t survive court challenges.
Opponents of the statewide law argued the law may hurt tenants, prompting landlords to set higher qualification standards, including requiring higher credit scores or higher incomes to rent apartments — reducing rather than growing the number of units accessible to lower-income families. Opponents also proffered GCE might curtail investments in older buildings that require ongoing maintenance to sustain habitability.
The law sunsets in 10 years, subject to review and renewal by the State legislature.
