New York, NY (April 22, 2024) – Over the weekend, Governor Hochul released an executive budget containing a housing deal that adds new protections to market rate tenants and incentives for new affordable housing, yet at the same time, rolls back tenant protections in the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) and includes severely weakened Good Cause Eviction measures.
The following is a statement from Rosalind Black, Director of Citywide Housing at Legal Services NYC, the nation’s largest provider of free civil legal services:
“While we are disappointed over this missed opportunity to uniformly strengthen tenant protections and have serious concerns over the rolling back of protections against rent increases amid soaring rents and ongoing housing crisis, we acknowledge that this housing package provides stability and protections to some New York tenants and their families. We sincerely hope the Good Cause Eviction Law sets a new threshold for tenant rights that will get stronger over time.
“At a time when New York City’s severely underfunded Right to Counsel program allows thousands of tenants facing eviction to fall through the cracks, it is clear that we need even stronger tenant protections that keep New Yorkers in safe and affordable homes. It is not enough simply to build new developments — we need laws and regulations that keep them affordable and that keep people in them.”
“While we are disappointed over this missed opportunity to uniformly strengthen tenant protections and have serious concerns over the rolling back of protections against rent increases amid soaring rents and ongoing housing crisis, we acknowledge that this housing package provides stability and protections to some New York tenants and their families. We sincerely hope the Good Cause Eviction Law sets a new threshold for tenant rights that will get stronger over time.
“At a time when New York City’s severely underfunded Right to Counsel program allows thousands of tenants facing eviction to fall through the cracks, it is clear that we need even stronger tenant protections that keep New Yorkers in safe and affordable homes. It is not enough simply to build new developments — we need laws and regulations that keep them affordable and that keep people in them.”
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Legal Services NYC fights poverty and seeks racial, social, and economic justice for low-income New Yorkers. For over 50 years, LSNYC has challenged systemic injustices that trap people in poverty and helped clients meet basic needs for housing, income and economic security, family and immigration stability, education, and health care. LSNYC fights every day to ensure New Yorkers and their families have access to the services, resources, and protections they need to survive. www.legaservicesnyc.org