Albany’s Good-Cause Eviction Law Worked—Before the Courts Blocked It

Tenant rights advocates in Albany rejoiced in July 2021 when the city enacted a good cause eviction bill, the first city in the state to do so. The law restricts building owners from evicting renters without legitimate reason and restricts evictions when rent goes up by 5 percent. For the more-than-one-year period that the Good Cause eviction law was in effect, it was working for Albany tenants, who were able to renegotiate excessive rent increases and avoid eviction.