New York State Legislature enacted a Good Cause Eviction Law (“GCEL”) on April 20, 2024, stated by courts as being the “most comprehensive expansion of rent regulation in New York in half a century” 1719 Gates LLC v Torres, 222 NYS3d 366, 368 [Civ. Ct. 2024]. The statute imposes several new notice provisions obligating landlords to state if housing accommodations are subject to Good Cause in lease offers and pre-eviction notices. As of August 18, 2024, all aspects of the law (including the notice provisions) are in effect.
GCEL effects apartments not subject to any form of rent regulation. GCEL does not amend or supersede any laws relating to rent stabilized or rent controlled tenants. The GCEL applies to New York City and any other municipalities that elect to “opt-in.” A number of municipalities have opted in so far, including Albany, Kingston, Poughkeepsie, Newburg, Rochester, Ithaca, Beacon, New Paltz, Hudson, Catskill and Fishkill.
GCEL will be in effect for the next ten (10) years, unless otherwise amended and/or extended. Generally, GCEL limits the amount a property owner can increase the rent to ten percent (10%) or five percent (5%) plus the annual percentage change in the consumer price index, whichever is lower. It also requires the property owner to demonstrate “good cause” in order to decline to renew the tenant’s lease. Below is a summary of the relevant portions of GCEL:
Coverage:
GCE will generally apply to all “free market” apartments, with the following exceptions:
- Units already subject to rent regulation;
- “Small landlords” (landlords who own (10) or less units);
- Owner occupied housing accommodations with no more than ten (10) units;
- Units occupied by an employee of the owner and the employment has been terminated (i.e. superintendent);
- Condominiums and cooperatives units that are subject to an offering plan submitted to the Attorney General;
- Buildings issued a temporary or permanent certificate of occupancy after January 1, 2009 (these buildings are exempt from GCE for thirty (30) years from issuance of the certificate of occupancy);
- A unit that is sublet pursuant to RPL Section 226-b, and the sublessor seeks to recover possession for their own personal use;
- Housing accommodations located in a hospital, continuing care retirement community, not-for-profit retirement community, adult care facility, assisted living facility, and/or senior residential community;
- Hotel rooms or other transient use covered by the definition of a class B multiple dwelling;
- School dormitories
- Units within a housing accommodation in a municipality other than New York City for which the rent exceeds 245% of the monthly fair market rent published by HUD for the county in which the housing accommodation is located.
It is particular to note that in order to qualify as a “small landlord”, the owner must disclose to the tenant(s) the name of each natural person(s) who owns or is a beneficial owner of, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, of the housing accommodation at issue. It must be disclosed the number of units owned by each owner, both jointly or separately and the address of these units (excluding the person’s principal address). If the unit is owned by a corporate entity, the owner must also disclose to the tenant(s) the same information for each natural person with direct or indirect ownership interest in the corporate ownership entity.
It should be further noted that the exemption for units that have a certificate of occupancy issued after January 1, 2009, the law does not require that this be the initial certificate of occupancy for the premises.
What Constitutes “Good Cause”?
The GCEL added Article 6-A to the Real Property Law and provides that a GCEL-covered tenant can only be removed from possession based on one of the Good Cause grounds enumerated in RPL 216(1)(a)-(j). The statutory ground for good cause eviction must be included in a Petitioner’s well-pleaded complaint. N.Y. RPL § 216; RPAPL § 741. GCEL does not create new causes of action for summary eviction proceedings in the housing court, but imposes additional conditions, which are found in RPL§ 216. A tenant can be evicted “upon order of a court of competent jurisdiction entered in an appropriate judicial action or proceeding” RPL 216(1)); 1719 Gates LLC v Torres, 222 NYS3d 366, 368 [Civ Ct 2024].
The following grounds constitute “good cause”, which would permit a property owner from declining to renew the lease of a “free market” renter or commence a proceeding for removal.
- The tenant has failed to pay the rent due and owing, provided the rent due and owing did not result from a rent increase which is “unreasonable.” In determining whether all or part of the rent increase is an unreasonable rent increase, there is a rebuttable presumption that the rent increase is unreasonable if the rent has been increased in any calendar year after the enactment of GCE by an amount greater than the local rent unreasonable;
- The tenant is engaging in nuisance conduct in the unit and/or the building;
- The tenant’s occupancy of the apartment is in violation of the law or causes a violation of the law, subjecting the owner to penalties. This requires that a violation be issued by It appears, however, that this provision requires the issuance of a vacate order and would require the restoration of the tenant to possession once the violation is cured;
- The tenant is using the apartment or part of the building for an illegal purpose
- The tenant has unreasonably refused to provide access to the owner for the purpose of making necessary repairs or improvements required by law, or refusing to provide access to the owner to show the premises to a prospective purchaser;
- The owner seeks to recover the premises for their own personal use for themselves or their family members;
- The owner seeks to recover possession of the unit with the good faith intention to demolish it;
- The owner seeks to recover possession of the unit with the good faith intention to remove it from the rental market;
- Tenant refuses to agree to “reasonable” changes to the renewal lease, including rent increases that are not unreasonable, as long as these written proposed changes are provided to the tenant(s) at least thirty (30) days and not more than ninety (90) days prior to the expiration of the current lease.
Notwithstanding the changes introduced by the GCEL, landlord-petitioners should continue to be aware of differences in non-payment and holdover proceedings—the statute does not specify the appropriate mechanism for removal of a GCEL-protected tenant. See 1719 Gates LLC v Torres, 222 NYS3d 366, 368 [Civ Ct 2024] (Court found that a non-renewal holdover is an appropriate, but not necessary mechanism for tenant’s removal).
Differing proceedings’ predicate notice requirements and opportunities to cure may impact a proceeding’s development. Overall, the provisions and requirements of the GCEL exist within the broader framework of existing housing laws—that non-payment is an enumerated grounds for good cause eviction does not preclude a tenant from withholding rent, pursuant to RPL § 235-b, as a tenant’s primary “means of persuading the landlord to maintain habitable premises.” Id., quoting Ruppert House Co. Inc. v. Altmann, 485 NYS 2d 472 [Civ Ct, NY Co 1985].
It should be noted that these provisions do not expressly permit a tenant to challenge the reasonableness of a rent increase that was taken prior to the enactment of GCE. GCE does permit the owner to prove to the court that the rent increase was not unreasonable based upon increases in fuel and utility costs, insurance, maintenance, property taxes, and making “significant repairs.” GCE also provides the tenant with the entitlement to recover actual damages and attorneys fees in the event the owner does not prevail in court when seeking to prove good cause.
Recent court cases have addressed the notice requirements under the Good Cause Eviction law and have confirmed that RPAPL §741 requires inclusion of additional information in pleadings regarding Good Cause Eviction status. See Doc Realty Mgt. Inc. v Morales, 2024 NY Slip Op 24239 [Civ. Ct. Sept. 3, 2024]. In Doc Realty Mgt., the court rejected Petitioner’s argument imposing a responsibility on Respondent to search the status of the property or owner.
For any eviction proceeding commenced on or after April 20, 2024, a petitioner must plead if the housing accommodation is subject to GCEL (See RPAPL 741) and must demonstrate the existence of a Good Cause. Courts addressed the definition of ‘commencement’ in determining whether cases initiated at the precipice of the effective dates of the GCEL provisions were subject to GCEL requirements, see e.g., Sin Hang Lau v. Yun He Zheng, 2025 NY Lip Op 25001. The prevailing notion has been that the commencement of an eviction proceeding is the date of filing, and not the date of service. See QN St. Albans Holdings LLC. v. Sands compelling. (2024 NY Slip Op 24252 at *6). Going forward, eviction proceedings must follow all pleading and other requirements of the GCEL.
New Notice Requirements
GCE has created RPL 231-c which obligates a landlord to append a Good Cause applicability notice to every lease offer and nonrenewal notice—whether or not the unit is subject to the provisions of the GCEL
RPL Section 231-c mandates that the notice advises the tenant of the following:
- If the unit is exempt from GCE and the basis for the exemption;
- If the owner intents to increase the rent above the local rent standard, the basis for the increase;
- If the owner is declining to renew the lease, the justification for the non-renewal.
GCE also amends the notice requirements of RPL Section 226-c, which requires a notice if the owner is declining to renew the lease or increasing the rent by more than five percent (5%), RPAPL Section 711(2). This then governs rent demands and RPAPL Section 741, which in turn governs the contents of a petition in Housing Court. The notice requirements of RPL Section 231-c are now required for these notices as well.
We are working on the details of implementing the new law as it affects our non-payment and holdover practice and will continue to provide further guidance and additional information as it becomes available. Please reach out to us so that we may answer any questions you may have and we can work together to navigate these new and complex issues.