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Road to Good Cause
The Road to Good Cause campaign allies local electeds and Housing Justice For All in the fight to pass Good Cause Eviction Protections across the state of New York.

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. 

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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.

Read The Bill

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!

Take The Pledge

Read Up On The Latest Good Cause 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 misinformation!

Read Up

Latest News from New York

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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.
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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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Photo: Josh Katz| The state should no longer design roads where pedestrians are just an afterthought, like this entrance to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn.
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New York Pols Back Gounardes’s Bill to Cut Driving by 20%

For decades, transit planners have widened roads and expanded highways as cities have grown. But these interventions have only increased traffic and worsened pollution. LP members in New York wrote to legislative leaders demanding state DOT take a new approach to planning.
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LPNY State Download 🗽 | Housing, environmental, immigration work & more! | May 2024

This edition of the Local Progress New York newsletter covers our end-of-session legislative push and budget roundup!
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