Judge nixes Poughkeepsie tenant protection law in latest court defeat for NY cities
A good cause eviction law passed by Poughkeepsie in 2021 to protect tenants from exorbitant rent increases and unwarranted evictions has been invalidated by a city judge in the latest court defeat for a wave of city-level tenant protections in New York.
Ruling in a pair of eviction cases brought by the same landlord, Judge Frank Mora declared that the city's good cause eviction law was void because it conflicted with state laws governing rental properties. One tenant whose objections he dismissed - and who now faces eviction - was an 87-year-old woman whose rent was raised by 23% last year at the the apartment complex where she had lived since 1975.
The ruling, coming after the rejections of similar laws in the city of Newburgh and Albany, cast doubt on the viability of any other local ordinances and raised pressure from tenant advocates for state lawmakers to enact statewide protections. A good cause eviction bill has been pending in the Legislature since 2019 and faces an uncertain future in the state government session now under way.
“Let’s be clear: These lawsuits have nothing to do with Good Cause’s merits," Brahvan Ranga, political director of the grassroots group For the Many, said in a statement. "No judge has ruled that barring evictions and large rent hikes without a good cause is illegal. They have only ruled that the state legislature, not cities, must pass Good Cause."
What's next:What 'Good Cause Eviction' ruling in Albany could mean for local Hudson Valley laws
Enacted:'Good Cause Eviction' law passed in Poughkeepsie; Here's what it means for tenants
Sean O'Fallon, an attorney for landlord LAKR Kaal Rock LLC, said in response to the ruling: "We are pleased with the court decision to protect the landlord's rights, guaranteed by state law, from infringement by the city."
The only remaining cities whose eviction laws hadn't suffered court defeats were Kingston and Beacon.
The two similarly reasoned decisions were signed by Mora on March 1 and filed with the court clerk on Tuesday. Both stemmed from evictions sought by the owners of Kaal Rock Manor Apartments, a complex near Poughkeepsie's Hudson River waterfront, by the Mid-Hudson Bridge.
The 87-year-old tenant mentioned in the decision saw her monthly rent balloon to $1,600 from $1,300 last year. The higher amount would have equaled more than half her income from Social Security and a pension, according to Mora's decision. She instead paid $1,365, the 5% increase limit allowed by Poughkeepsie's eviction law.
Rejected:Judge strikes down Newburgh's Good Cause Eviction law: What it means for the Hudson Valley
The other tenant facing eviction is a mother with a 2-year-old son. She had lived at Kaal Rock Manor since 2017 and balked when her $1,400 rent was raised by 10% to $1,550, Mora's ruling indicated. She, too, paid the landlord a 5% increase instead.
The Poughkeepsie law declared that landlords could evict tenants only for "good cause," a set of reasons that included failing to pay rent, damaging property or allowing illegal activity. A tenant could not be evicted for owing money after a landlord raised rent by an "unconscionable" amount.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, has proposed a set of mandates and inducements to accelerate housing construction in New York, but didn't include the good-cause tenant protections sought by more progressive Democrats in the Legislature. That debate will likely play out in budget negotiations in the new few weeks and perhaps in the post-budget session that is scheduled to end on June 8.
Chris McKenna covers government and politics for the Journal News and USA Today Network. Reach him at cmckenna@th-record.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Poughkeepsie judge voids 'good cause eviction' law for tenants
