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correspondence 2 pages

Also attached to this agenda item: Ithaca Good Cause Local Law Poughkeepsie Good Cause Eviction LL-24-08

July 31, 2024 Mayor Brian Pugh 1 Van Wyck Street Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520 Dear Mayor Pugh, New York State passed Good Cause Eviction Protections (§213- 2(a) of Article 6-A of NYS Real Property Law) in April 2024, authorizing municipalities around the state to adopt their own local laws protecting tenants from unjust eviction and unfair rent hikes. We write to urge you to adopt Good Cause Eviction protections for as many renters as possible in the village of Croton-on-Hudson. Good Cause Eviction would make our community more stable, affordable, and fair. Good Cause guarantees lease renewals, limits rent hikes, and stops unjust evictions. Good Cause is now in effect in New York City, covering approximately 1.3 million tenants, and was recently passed in Albany, Ithaca, Kingston, and Poughkeepsie. It has been introduced in Rochester and several other towns and cities are considering opting in. Croton-on-Hudson could be the first village to opt in, and set an example for smaller localities around the state who are seeing their community suffer as people leave in search of lower rents. Median rents in the Village of Croton-on-Hudson have increased more than 20% over the last five years, straining family budgets and pushing many of our neighbors out of their homes and away from their schools, jobs, and communities. Nearly 40% of renters in Croton are rent-burdened, paying more than a third of their income to rent each month. Good Cause Eviction will give renters recourse to challenge rent hikes over the Consumer Price Index plus 5% (8.82% in Croton this year) or 10%, whichever is lower in any given year.1 It will ensure that so long as a tenant is paying the rent and abiding by the lease, they can renew it and stay in their home. The Village of Croton-on-Hudson should adopt the strongest possible version of Good Cause that maximizes the number of renters covered by the protections. The new state Good Cause Eviction Law includes many exemptions,2 but it does give localities the power to change two parameters to fit the local context and close loopholes that property owners may use to deny their tenants basic rights to housing stability. First, the Village should close the LLC loophole by defining the real estate portfolio exemption at one (1) unit. Predatory landlords can hide how many units they own behind anonymous LLCs in order to avoid Good Cause, leaving tenants in the dark about whether they have these protections. Small landlords who rent out units in the building they live in are already excluded 2 Read more about them at hj4a.org/GoodCause 1 Good Cause Eviction Law Required DHCR Notice from Good Cause by the state law. Setting the portfolio exemption at one unit is the best way to ensure that tenants in smaller buildings will know whether or not they have protections. Second, the Village should set a high rent threshold of 345% of area Fair Market Rent ($6,672/month), so that it becomes a true high rent threshold rather than an incentive for landlords to increase the rent a little bit to avoid being covered by Good Cause. Every municipality that has passed a local law to opt into Good Cause thus far closed these loopholes and covered nearly every renter. Landlords of any size who treat tenants with respect, provide proper services, and avoid unjust evictions and rent hikes will not be affected by Good Cause Eviction. The law allows landlords to raise rents for increased costs and pursue evictions for valid reasons such as nonpayment or illegal activity. This legislation targets predatory landlords who raise rents out of greed and retaliate against tenants who speak up about neglectful conditions. It will help stabilize our community, improve our housing stock, and keep Croton-on-Hudson a place where families can continue to thrive. We are available to discuss the details of the law and any questions you may have. Enclosed you will find copies of the local law recently passed by the cities of Poughkeepsie and Ithaca. Thank you for your consideration, Theo Oshiro, resident of Croton-on-Hudson Peter Feigenbaum, resident of Croton-on-Hudson