Rochester City Council taking up ‘Good Cause Eviction’ law. What it means: - RochesterFirst

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — The City of Rochester currently has more than 3,000 open eviction cases, impacting close to 7,000 residents, according to the City-Wide Tenant Union.

Housing advocates are hoping the Good Cause Eviction law would change that. The law is being taken up by the Rochester City Council this month, just weeks after the expiration of the New York State Eviction Moratorium on January 15.

But what exactly are Good Cause Eviction Protections?

Liz McGriff, the Campaigns Coordinator for the City-Wide Tenant Union, said they give tenants the right to renew their tenancy, while protecting against retaliatory evictions. In short, property owners would have to prove there is “good cause” to evict a resident.

“It has to be either if the tenant didn’t pay the rent, the tenant was causing nuisance, or causing harm to other tenants. Those are reasons why a landlord would evict,” McGriff said “It also gives them an action for holdover evictions, generally hold over evictions is for any reason the landlord can evict you, and this gives them an opportunity to say, ‘Well, you know, I’ve been a good tenant, I’ve been paying my rent all the time.’”

The law would also require landlords to justify rent increases of more than 3% with “good cause,” something McGriff said would go a long way in Rochester.

“What happens in the community a lot is we have investors that come in, and they just evict everybody out of the apartment, because they want to fix it up, maybe slap a little paint on it, and then charge a higher rent, because Rochester has been pitched as a city for great investment, so we see a lot of people being priced out,” McGriff said.

She said certain places in Rochester have recently increased rent 30-40% and Good Cause would keep that from happening.

“If you’re not on a fixed income, there’s no way you’re going to be able to afford that rent, or even remain in that community,” McGriff said. “So it allows people to remain in the communities where they built relationships built friends. And if you know where the kids go to school to stay in that community.”

But there are many also opposed to Good Cause, like property owners and landlords. Rich Tyson, who owns several local properties, say a 3% cap on rent increase could actually end up keeping housing quality low and hurt those who own the property.

“That means that I can’t afford property maintenance, upgrading properties, renovation work, right? So if those units are stagnant, or they’re in need of investment of capital, there would be no ability to create it outside of me just being a good Samaritan and throwing the cash into them,” Tyson said. “3% is nothing, especially when materials are going up, water bills are going up, insurance is going up. So it’s it’s it’s creating the situation, once again, where the housing provider is being forced to take a loss.”

Tyson says the law could also make it harder for those living in multi-family properties with different tenants.

“Maybe you’ve got one tenant who’s, you know, a good tenant, you got somebody who’s not a great tenant, and that not great tenant is making life miserable for the good tenant, you tell that person, ‘I’m terminating your lease, I don’t want you to live here anymore, you’re disrupting the lives of these good paying tenants,’ you won’t be able to do it,” Tyson said.

Along with having “good cause” to evict tenants, the City-Wide Tenant Union is also pushing for No Certificate of Occupancy, No Eviction, which prohibits evictions from properties lacking a valid Certificate of Occupancy.

Though a C of O is required for all rental properties in Rochester, McGriff said not all property owners have one.

“For a long time, you have so many properties in the City of Rochester go eight months without a certificate of occupancy and because of this, they’re still allowed to collect rents, get payments, but as soon as the tenant complaints or cause code enforcement, then the tenant is evicted,” McGriff said.

She adds that A Certificate of Occupancy keeps landlords accountable when properties aren’t well-maintained, have vermin, leaks, mold, hazardous conditions, etc.

“A lot of renters go in to a place they don’t know, they don’t see it, and then when they’re there for a month, and they have a leak, they complain, the landlord will say, ‘Well, you can just leave,’ and then they’ll rent the property to somebody else,” McGriff said. “If you can’t fix it up, which is the basics of what being a landlord is, then, you know, you shouldn’t be able to allow to evict.”

But Tyson said while he believes properties should have a C of O, they aren’t always easy to get if tenants are paying their rent.

“I’ve got a unit right now on Bay Street, upstairs hasn’t paid in six months, downstairs… a great paying tenant, I don’t have a C of O on the property, because I’m only bringing in half the money the property should,” Tyson said. “I’ve had the C of O inspection they’ve come out, they’ve given me my list of things that they’d like me to fix, but I simply don’t have the cash to fix it.”

He said not having a C of O on a property is considered a “violation” and he’s now at a standstill because his tenant won’t pay her rent and he doesn’t have the money to fix violations and “recoup” the money once it comes through.

The Good Cause Eviction Protections law is going to be discussed by Rochester City Council on March 10. Rochester City Council Vice President Mary Lupien, Councilmember Kim Smith, and Councilmember Stanley Martin co-sponsored the legislation.

If Rochester passes Good Cause, it would be the largest city in New York to do so. Four other cities in the state passed the bill in 2021, including Albany.

Rochester City Council taking up 'Good Cause Eviction' law. What it means:

Rochester City Council taking up 'Good Cause Eviction' law. What it means:

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source: https://www.rochesterfirst.com/rochester/rochester-city-council-taking-up-good-cause-eviction-law-what-it-means/

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