A resolution to amend the town code and opt into New York’s “good cause” eviction law squeaked by the Board 4-3, with members Michael Cifone, Bill Reuter, and Anne Burger opposing. The state law, which took effect last year, prevents landlords from evicting tenants in qualified units without legitimate cause, and allows tenants to challenge excessive rent hikes used to force them out. The law already applies in New York City, but upstate communities have to opt in first.
Speaking before the vote, after more than two hours of public comments, Supervisor Rebecca Edwards says she views it as an anti-retaliation, anti-gentrification law that can help combat the housing crisis.
“Where we have affordable housing, we must try to preserve it," says Edwards. "And when someone wants to come up and buy an older building and jack up the rents by 50 percent or 100 percent, that’s detrimental to the folks here who are struggling to find affordable housing."
Roughly 30 to 40 percent of Poughkeepsie’s residents are renters, according to the town. In passing the resolution, Poughkeepsie joins more than a dozen communities across the state who have also adopted “good cause” eviction. Many of them are in the Hudson Valley, including the city of Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Beacon, Fishkill, New Paltz, Kingston, and more.
Under the state law, municipalities have the ability to set parameters regarding how many units “good cause” applies to. Poughkeepsie’s resolution exempts so-called “small landlords” with only one rental unit in the state. Multiple residents at Wednesday’s meeting, like Gretchen Lieb, urged the Board to adopt the broadest parameters possible.
"These are all extremely good-sense measures and practices for landlords. It's nothing excessive. It's not real rent control,' says Lieb. "It's just good, basic legislation to protect both renters and landlords."
Many were there to oppose the resolution. “Good cause” has seen pushback from landlord groups, like the Hudson Valley Property Owners Association. The HVPOA has successfully sued to block efforts to implement rent control some cities, but “good cause” has been harder to budge.
Rich Lanzarone, a Kingston landlord and executive director of the HVPOA, told board members that “good cause” will ultimately disincentivize housing development in Poughkeepsie. He also maintains it hurts tenants more than it helps, claiming it pressures landlords to raise their standards when seeking new renters.
“I now have to be very, very strict about who I rent to," says Lanzarone. "What does that mean? 650 credit score now becomes 720. Three times the income in rent, now becomes four times the income in rent, with no overtime.”
The law does not prevent landlords from evicting tenants who fail to pay rent. It also doesn’t prevent them from evicting tenants who break their lease, engage in illegal activity, disorderly behavior, and other reasons the state considers to be “good cause.”
Still, some property owners in Poughkeepsie don’t see it that way. Resident Joe Clark says he wants to rent out his home when he and his wife eventually move — and he wants to do so under his conditions.
“I have a few opinions. But the one that bothers me the most is someone’s gonna try to tell me what to do with my house and my property," adds Clark. "I needed somewhere to live? I got a job, I worked my butt off — so did my wife — we bought a house. We didn’t rent. We bought a house. That’s the American dream. Don’t people want to work for it anymore?”
Resident Mike Christiansen says he’s not buying arguments that “good cause” will decrease rental stock or prevent landlords from controlling their properties. He urged the Board to adopt the resolution.
“I don’t believe a law like this would stop landlords from wanting to earn money," he notes. "So, I think that threats of supply disappearing are just that, and they are a bluff that should be called.”
Before the vote, Sixth Ward Board Member Ann Shershin said she’s heard firsthand from residents who would have benefitted from “good cause.” She voted to adopt it.
“I was approached by a constituent who was a renter, and a good renter. Completely paid up, no problems. And at the end of her lease, her landlord just said, ‘I don’t want to rent to you anymore.’ Didn’t have to give a reason. Just, ‘I want you out,'" says Shershin. "So yeah, there are definitely situations where this law will help, and help on the side of the renter.”
