Dear New Yorkers,
There’s a growing phenomenon happening in NYC’s housing market: private equity firms buying up non rent-regulated apartments and evicting rent-paying tenants, some of whom have lived in their buildings for decades. Why are they doing this? The long answer is their business model is built on replacing working and middle-class tenants with people who can afford to pay higher rents. The short answer is because they can.
That’s why I joined Council Members Pierina Sanchez and other Bronx elected officials on Wednesday outside a building where the company Glacier Equities recently purchased dozens of apartments and is in the process of evicting long term residents who did nothing wrong.
A bill pending in Albany, the Good Cause Eviction Bill (S3082/A5573), would put a stop to this by prohibiting unreasonable rent increases designed to send people packing and give rent-paying tenants who have followed all the rules the right to a renewal lease. Rents are rising dramatically in NYC, up 12% since last summer, leading many unable to afford their homes. This bill would level the playing field between tenants and landlords.
What is the Good Cause Eviction Bill (S3082/A5573)?
- Good Cause Eviction is a bill that would give unregulated tenants a defense in court against unjust evictions. Landlords would still be able to evict people for not paying rent, breaking the terms of their lease, illegal activity, refusal of access or owner occupancy. But they couldn’t just kick out a rent-paying tenant simply because they think someone else will pay more.
- The bill would also protect tenants against unconscionable rent increases by limiting annual rent increases to either 3% or 1.5% of the Consumer Price Index, whichever is higher. Landlords would no longer be able to demand outrageous 70% annual rent increases, as we have recently seen in NYC.
- The bill will also protect tenants from retaliation for demanding repairs or filing complaints with government agencies about conditions in their building. Good Cause would ensure that advocating for safe, livable housing conditions isn’t a viable reason for eviction.
- The bill covers all unregulated housing in New York State except for owner-occupied buildings with fewer than 4 units. Additionally, it exempts housing regulated by state or federal law where tenants already have similar protections against eviction.
What can you do?
- Call your state representatives and urge them to pass Good Cause as soon as possible. Housing Justice for All has made it really easy, get a script to call here.
- Attend a rally in Albany on March 9th to push the legislature to pass Good Cause, as well as ending 421-a, and creating a Housing Access Voucher Program. Details here.
- Make sure your community knows their rights in the face of eviction, especially as the moratorium has ended
- Do not self-evict. An eviction notice does not mean you have to immediately leave.
- Seek professional legal help: call 311 and ask for the Tenant Helpline or call local organizations such as the Met Council’s Tenant Hotline.
- Apply for financial assistance such as the city’s One Shot Deal and state’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). If you apply to ERAP, you cannot be evicted until there is a decision on your case.
A just recovery for New York must prioritize keeping people in their homes over the profits of speculative real estate. It’s time we eliminate the business model that profits from uprooting tenants, as large, corporate landlords like Greenbrook Partners have tried to throughout Brooklyn. Passing the Good Cause eviction protections will go a long way in making a fair and equitable recovery possible. I hope you will join me in this fight.
Brad
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