New York State’s Good Cause Eviction Law (GCE law) was enacted on April 20, 2024, as part of the NY 2025 State Budget. It went into effect immediately in New York City. A spokesperson for State Senate Democrats estimated that 75% of renters in New York City will now be protected either by the new GCE law or existing rent regulations.
The GCE law is part of a housing package that also includes initiatives to increase affordable housing throughout the State. Supporters of the package applaud it as an important step to help solve the state’s housing crisis, increase the supply of affordable housing, and protect tenants from unreasonable rent increases. Some tenants’ advocates, though, were critical of exemptions and time limits that they believe make it easier for landlords to get around the law. Opponents of the law think it goes too far and places burdensome requirements on rental property owners.
Tenant Protections
The Good Cause Eviction Law will remain in effect for 10 years and will automatically be repealed on June 15, 2034. Aside from New York City, where the law went into effect immediately, other cities, towns, and villages within the state will have to voluntarily opt-in to be covered. Albany is the only city that has opted in so far, on June 3rd. Kingston and Ithaca are also expected to opt in soon.
Under the GCE law, landlords cannot evict tenants or refuse to renew leases except for good cause, which is defined as failure to pay rent, creating or permitting a nuisance, violating the landlord’s rules, violating the law (in some circumstances), using the premises for illegal purposes and unreasonably refusing the landlord access to make repairs or show the property. Also included as good causes are a landlord’s recovering possession to use as a primary residence for themself or their family (in some circumstances), demolishing the unit, or withdrawing it from the rental market.
There are exceptions and additional requirements for many of these good-cause items. Notably, failure to pay rent is not considered a good cause for eviction if the unpaid amount was part of an “unreasonable” rent increase, defined as an amount greater than the “local rent standard.” Rent increases are capped at 10% or 5% plus the annual consumer price index percentage change for the region, whichever is less. Also, a landlord must get a court order to evict a tenant under the GCE.
Housing That Is Not Covered by the GCE Law
There are many carve-outs to the GCE law, including 15 housing categories exempt from the law. These include:
- Housing owned by small landlords, defined as owners of 10 units of housing or less anywhere within New York State
- Owner-occupied buildings with no more than 10 units
- Units where the rent is more than 245% of the fair market rent for the county, as published annually by HUD, or by another percentage that a municipality chooses
- This will vary widely by location. For example, in New York City, a one-bedroom apartment would currently need to rent for more than $6,005 per month to be exempt from GCE. If a city or town in Allegany County decides to opt-in to GCE, the threshold for the same size apartment will be $1,791.
- Units in new or recently constructed buildings, defined as buildings for which a temporary or permanent certificate of occupancy was issued in 2009 or later.
- These buildings will remain exempt from the GCE law for 30 years from the time the certificate of occupancy was issued.
Other units not covered by GCE include sublets, co-ops, condos, units already subject to rent or eviction regulation, manufactured homes in manufactured home parks, housing provided as part of a job, hotel rooms, and dormitories.
Impact on Rent-Stabilized Units
Caps for raising the rent on rent-stabilized units will be increased by allowing landlords to recoup a portion of their renovation costs over a 15-year time span.
Incentives for New Housing Development
The housing package contains numerous incentives for creating new housing, including affordable rental housing, homeownership opportunities, mixed-income housing, commercial-to-residential conversions, lifting some restrictions on residential density, and legalizing some basement and cellar apartments.
Incentives include a $500 million capital fund for building up to 15,000 housing units on state land, $600 million capital funding to support housing across the state, and a tax incentive to create new housing in New York City. Also still in effect is a $25 billion housing plan that was part of the FY 2023 State Budget to create and preserve 100,000 affordable units, of which 40,000 have already been built.
Implications for Small Landlords
Units owned by landlords with 10 units or fewer in New York State are not subject to the GCE. However, given the state’s politics, it is always possible that the law will be amended in the future to make it even more favorable to tenants. It has been noted that some small landlords may be less willing to invest in or maintain their properties if they believe their units may eventually be subject to GCE restrictions.
Tenant Reactions
While many tenants’ advocates praised the new law, some were critical of the law’s exemptions. For example, Housing Justice for All, a coalition of 80 organizations representing tenants and homeless New Yorkers, called the law “the worst in the country” and said that at least 3.4 million tenants would be excluded from its protections state-wide.
Overall Impacts of the Housing Package
The GCE law extends some of the protections of rent and eviction control to the private housing market and provides incentives to create more housing through new construction and other measures. If it goes as planned, it should provide more housing security for New York renters in an extremely tight housing market. A potential negative consequence would be if landlords subject to the law were to cut back on maintaining their properties or if fewer investors were willing to invest in rental property. Meanwhile, tenant advocates are expected to push for a stronger law with fewer exemptions.