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Road To Good Cause Campaign Scores 11 Victories Across Upstate New York
The coordinated campaign of local officials expand critical renter protections to thousands of tenants, setting their sights on Rochester next.
WHAT IS GOOD CAUSE?
Good Cause Eviction Protections are new renter safeguards that entitle nearly all tenants to a lease renewal. Passed into law during the 2024 New York State budget, this new law guarantees most tenants a new lease, limits rent increases, and stops unjust evictions. Whether you’re on a month-to-month agreement or a year-long lease, landlords are legally required to provide tenants with a lease renewal unless they have good cause. There are some important exceptions that apply depending on the size of a landlord’s portfolio and if the rent is a certain percentage above market rate.
While the law, as passed, only applies to the five boroughs in New York City, upstate villages, towns, and cities can opt for these critical renter protections.
The Road To Good Cause Starts Here
On June 3rd, 2024, Albany became the first city in New York to opt-in to Good Cause. By August, Kingston, Poughkeepsie, and Ithaca had followed suit, but millions of renters across the state still needed these critical protections. That’s why we launched the Road To Good Cause to win renter protections in every town, village, and city across New York.
In collaboration with members across our New York chapter, our campaign will go to each locality to help tenants and local leaders pass strong renter protections. By bringing together renters and local electeds, we can fix the mistakes of the state legislature to ensure an end to unjust evictions and unreasonable rent hikes.
Our fight for Good Cause isn’t just about bringing some renter protections to each locality, but the strongest version possible. That’s why we developed the Gold Standard of Good Cause to bring a strong network of tenant protections across the state. While the state housing deal gave upstate communities leeway in how to implement Good Cause, this draft legislation will ensure the strongest version possible of Good Cause in any locality across the state. Check out the ready-to-use bill using the links below!
The Fight For Good Cause Across New York
Across New York, local leaders are getting ready to fight for critical renter protections. In every town, village, and city, tenants and local elected officials are united in the fight to turn Good Cause Eviction Protections into law. We’ve mapped out every locality across the state with an active Good Cause campaign and every area where our movement has won! If you don’t see your town, village, or city on the map, check out our template legislation below, ready to be introduced in your area. You can also go check out Housing Justice For All to get connected with tenant leaders fighting for Good Cause in your locality.
Join The Fight For Good Cause
Take action to bring renter protections to every town, village, and city across New York!
Introduce The Gold Standard of Good Cause
Check out our ready-to-introduce legislation to bring Good Cause to YOUR community! This bill is drafted and vetted by legal experts, ready to withstand any challenges and bring the strongest possible renter protections to any locality.
Take The Pledge
Local leaders across the state have committed to joining our fight to bring Good Cause to New York. Sign up here for campaign updates and take our pledge introduce Good Cause in your area before the end of the year!
Read Up On The Latest Talking Points
The Real Estate Lobby worked hard to water down Good Cause in Albany, and they're working even harder to beat Good Cause in localities across the state. Check out our latest talking points to ensure you're ready to fight back against!
Latest News from New York
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LPNY State Download 📣 | Road to Good Cause, and more! | November 2024
Welcome back to the LPNY State Download – our quarterly newsletter! Here’s a look at some of what LPNY has been up to the past few months – and what’s been happening across the state.
- Housing
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Good Cause Workshop Recap
On Tuesday, August 20, Local Progress held a virtual Good Cause workshop with coalition partners Housing Justice for All and For The Many. We shared organizing tactics, lessons learned, and strategies on how to replicate these wins across the state. Fresh off their housing victories this summer, we heard from local leaders in Kingston and Albany on how they won Good Cause in their cities.
- Housing
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Local Progress Members Demand New Approach To Transit Funding In New York
15 Local Progress members across New York sent a letter to Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Heastie, advocating for the passage A4120/S1981. The bills would direct the state Department of Transportation (DOT) to reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) by 20% by 2050.
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