• Good Cause, Take Two

  • Jul 19 2024
  • Length: 3 mins
  • Podcast

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Good Cause, Take Two

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  • Beacon plans to opt into state legislation The Beacon City Council intends to opt into New York State's good-cause eviction law, but council members are at odds over the two exemptions to the statute that the city can control. A public hearing is scheduled for Aug. 5. The council adopted its own good-cause legislation in 2022, although city attorneys advised that the measure was superseded by state regulations and probably unconstitutional. Beacon was one of five municipalities in the state to adopt a local act; all were struck down in court or repealed. Housing advocates increased their calls for a statewide measure after a moratorium on pandemic-related evictions expired in January 2022. The state law was passed in April as part of the 2024-25 budget. The law is designed to protect tenants by regulating when landlords can evict them or decline to renew a lease. For instance, it prevents evictions unless tenants owe back rent that is not due to an "unreasonable" increase, which the state defines as 5 to 10 percent, based on the consumer price index. (For 2024, an unreasonable increase in Dutchess County is 8.82 percent or more.) According to the state law, tenants may be evicted if they violate lease conditions or cause substantial damage; commit or permit a nuisance; or if the landlord wants to convert the property to personal use. Notably, the law exempts for 30 years buildings for which a certificate of occupancy was issued on or after Jan. 1, 2009. That means nearly all apartments constructed in Beacon during its recent development boom are exempt. The law also exempts housing units for which the rent is 245 percent above a county-determined fair-market rate. For Dutchess in 2024, that's $3,031 per month for a studio, $3,477 for a one-bedroom, and so forth. The state gives municipalities the option to adjust the percentage, so if Beacon opts in, the council could set the figure as low as 101 percent. If the City Council votes to opt into the law, as expected, the state legislation will negate and replace the Beacon statute, which remains in effect but is not enforced because of a November ruling by a city judge. During its Monday (July 15) meeting, Council Member Paloma Wake said she believes all units should be subject to the law. "I'm concerned that by having the [rent] cap we're incentivizing landlords to only build luxury housing because they're slightly less regulated," she said. "I don't see that in the least," responded Mayor Lee Kyriacou. He argued that forcing luxury apartments to abide by the standards could stunt housing growth. "I would much rather see us provide that sort of limitation to get more housing at the right price point," he said. "If someone builds a few luxury apartments that are high price points in the same building, they might come back and say, 'I can afford to do 20 percent [below market rate], because I can make the numbers work.' " The state law also exempts "small landlords" who own no more than 10 units but allows municipalities to change that number. Wake said the city should not exempt any landlords who own more than one unit; Kyriacou said he preferred 10.
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