The Binghamton City Council is considering opting into good cause eviction, a statewide law meant to protect tenants from rent hikes and certain kinds of eviction.
New York’s good cause eviction law passed earlier this year. It limits the reasons a landlord can choose not to renew a tenant’s lease.
It also prohibits rent increases at either 10% or the Consumer Price Index, plus 5%—whichever percentage is lower. In Binghamton, that would mean rent could not rise by more than 8.45% at one time.
The state’s law only applies to New York City, but local governments outside of the city can opt in. A handful of upstate municipalities have already adopted good cause eviction laws, including the city of Ithaca.
Binghamton City Councilman Nate Hotchkiss introduced the legislation. He said the law targets absentee landlords who neglect properties and gouge prices.
Hotchkiss said it would not affect responsible landlords who take care of their properties and don’t hike up rents. For example, he said the landlords would still be able to raise rent to pay for justified and unexpected renovation costs.
“What we're protecting against is just unreasonable jacking up the price because you can, and there's no change to the apartment, there's no change to the landlord’s expenses,” Hotchkiss said. “That's what we're trying to protect against.”
Hotchkiss said good cause would protect tenants from landlords refusing to renew their leases as retaliation for complaining about needed repairs or poor living conditions.
The law would still allow landlords to evict tenants for breaking their lease or not paying rent. It also lets landlords not renew a lease because they want the unit for personal use, or are taking it off the market.
“I think any of the other reasons that [landlords] could normally evict somebody, they will,” Hotchkiss said. “If they have tenants that are paying their rent, and they're abiding by their lease, then why wouldn't you want to keep them as a tenant?”
Like most upstate municipalities that have adopted good cause, Binghamton’s proposed version of the law applies to any landlord who owns more than one unit.
The law does have certain exemptions, including for owner-occupied buildings with fewer than 11 units and units with luxury-level pricing, which is defined as any rent over 345% percent of the fair market rent.
Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham said he plans to discuss the legislation with the city council. Kraham did not take a stance on the law one way or the other, but said he felt the city should take more time deciding whether to opt in.
“The biggest mistake that can be made is rushing into something like good cause eviction, regardless of the merits or deficiencies of that type of policy,” Kraham said. “You're talking about tens of thousands of people that could be affected by something. It should take longer than two weeks to be considered.”
The city council’s agenda is not public yet, but members could vote on the legislation during their business meeting Wednesday, Dec. 18.
