Opting into “good cause eviction” could help cool the city’s homelessness crisis by protecting tenants from excessive rent increases and preventing evictions where tenants are not at fault, according to a report released Tuesday by city Auditor Alex Marion.
“Good cause,” Marion argues in his report, is vital to stopping evictions, which have led to more than 1,000 people becoming unhoused since 2019.
The 68-page report, released Tuesday, comes after the Syracuse Common Council hosted a public hearing in September on “good cause” legislation, a series of protections that advocates say could help keep tenants in their homes and slow rising rents.
Councilors have said they want more community feedback and information about the potential benefits and drawbacks of the legislation before voting on the protections. The councilors used the hearing to ask local housing experts about the workings of the bill and how it affects landlords and tenants. At the time, advocates said that more education and dispelling of common misconceptions about the bill is needed.
Marion’s report describes how the tenant protections under “good cause” would work, looks to fact-check arguments used by detractors of the bill, and directs the council on how to best enact the legislation. Marion also recommends support for other state policies that can beef up tenants rights.
A version of “good cause” made it to the state’s budget in April, but placed the onus on localities to opt into the series of tenant protections. Localities can amend some portions of the bill. So far, six other upstate cities have enacted “good cause.”
Under the bill, tenants:
- Could challenge evictions filed in court for reasons not stated in the lease agreement
- Could contest at eviction hearings rent increases above 10% of the yearly rent or 5% plus the rate of inflation, whichever is lower.
- Would be allowed to renew their lease automatically if they are caught up on rent and have abided by the terms of their lease.
How does “good cause” help?
“Good cause” could help curb evictions by slowing down significant rent increases and by allowing tenants in compliance with their lease to remain in their homes, Marion said in the report.
City renters face one of the sharpest increases in rent in the nation. In just one year, rent for one-bedroom apartments in Syracuse have increased about 22%, according to one study. A national study cited by Marion indicates that any increases in rent could spur displacement.
According to the Government Accountability Office, a rent hike of $100 per month can lead to an increase in the national rate of homelessness of about 9%, Marion wrote in his report. The GAO is an independent auditing body of the federal government.
The bill could be a lifeline for tenants at a time when landlords are filing for eviction proceedings at about the same rate as 2023, the highest on record since at least 2019, Marion writes.
City landlords have filed for 1,300 evictions from January through the end of August, around 160 claims per month, Marion wrote. Last year, landlords filed for about 178 evictions per month, according to the report.
About one third of the evictions this year have displaced residents living in the south and west sides of the city. These areas, which fall under the zip codes 13207, 13210, and 13205, face significant economic struggles, Marion said. Tenants looking to rent a two-bedroom apartment in these neighborhoods would have to earn hourly wages between $19-$22, Marion wrote.
What “good cause” can and cannot do
The provisions in “good cause” that allow tenants to challenge unfair rent increases have often garnered criticism as measures that control a landlords’ business. Landlords have told Central Current that while they don’t plan to enact unreasonable hikes on the rates at their properties, these provisions infringe on their rights to operate their rental properties.
Marion wrote in his report that landlords are allowed to raise the rent on their properties but that those increases have to be justified. For instance, Marion wrote that under this clause a landlord can increase rent at a hypothetical $1,000 apartment by about $85 per month, or about 8.5%, given that the rate of inflation is about 3.45%.
Opponents of the bill have also said that “good cause” tips the scale in favor of tenants significantly.
In the report, Marion said landlords would still have avenues to evict tenants and not renew their leases if they show they cannot pay rent, violate their lease, and engage in criminal activity.
How should the council enact “good cause?”
Marion has urged legislators to pass “good cause” in the past. He believes for the legislation to be effective, the council would also have to amend two portions of the bill, he wrote in the report.
The first is an amendment to the number of properties a person or an LLC can own without being exempt from good cause protections. The bill allows landlords who own 10 units or fewer to be exempt. About 38% of the rental housing inventory in Syracuse is owned by LLCs, amounting to more than 17,000 housing units, Marion said. Property owners could skirt around “good cause” regulations by simply registering new LLCs as the owners of different properties they own, Marion said.
Marion said “good cause” should apply to any entity that owns one or more housing units. All six upstate cities that have enacted “good cause” so far have amended their version of the bill to reflect this change.
The second amendment the council should propose, Marion wrote, is raising the percentage of fair market rent that exempts luxury housing from “good cause” protections. The bill’s original high rent exemption excludes tenants at apartments where the rent is greater than 245% of the fair market rent from “good cause” protections
Marion wrote he wants that increased to 345%, which is what other model cities have codified. New York’s Homes and Community Renewal data calculates 345% of fair market rent in Onondaga County to be $3,160.20
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