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State legislators joined tenants and some property owners to advocate for Good Cause Eviction legislation on Wednesday at the New York State Capitol.
“The interest of small homeowners and their tenants are interconnected,” said State Senator Julia Salazar (D-18th Senate District).
Members of the group said they want to prevent renters from evicting tenants without good cause.
“There are a lot of mom and pop landlords out here who are willing to work with their tenants,” said Albany-based landlord Rosemary Rivera.
The legislation would block steep rent increases and evictions without a good cause, and implement automatic lease renewals for many tenants.
Supporters say it would help an ongoing housing crisis exacerbated by the pandemic and keep large real estate companies in check.
“I found that putting people over profit actually has been beneficial,” said Rivera. “I will work with my tenants to keep them in their home.”
Not all landlords are sold.
“We’ve been beat up this past year with the pandemic and moratorium,” said Gloversville-based landlord Marae Tesi, who owns 120 rental properties in and around Gloversville.
She said she understands protecting tenants, but believes a law like this would be detrimental to business.
“You’re going to end up losing all the small landlords,” she said. “And it’s going to become government housing.”
Many lawmakers who back this legislation call downstate home. Tesi said it shouldn’t be approached as a cookie-cutter issue.
“We don’t need rent stabilization,” she said. “We’re not increasing our rent by 100 percent. We can’t increase our rent more than 5%.”
Advocates said the measures are sensible.
“We as tenants deserve more,” said Assemblywoman Phara Souffrant-Forrest (D-District 57). “We deserve to live a dignified life.”
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