Good Cause Eviction Law protects NY renters

New York’s Good Cause Eviction Law protects most renters in certain cities from being forced to move out when their lease is up.

You are protected if you rent in one of these cities: Albany, Beacon, Binghamton, Catskill, Croton-on-Hudson, Fishkill, Hudson, Ithaca, Kingston, Newburgh, New Paltz, New York City, Nyack, Poughkeepsie, or Rochester.

How this protects you

• Your landlord must have a good reason to evict you or refuse to renew your lease. (They can still evict you for not paying rent, breaking lease rules, or damaging the property.)
• Your landlord cannot raise your rent by too much when you renew your lease.
• If your landlord says they need your apartment for their family or they want to demolish it, they must prove this is true. If they lie and you move out, you can sue them.
• Your landlord must tell you in writing whether your apartment is covered by this law and explain why if it's not.

You are NOT protected if you:

• Have a "small landlord" (owns 10 or fewer apartments in New York State)
• Live in a building that got its certificate of occupancy (official permission for people to live there) after January 1, 2009
• Are a subletter
• Live in a rent-regulated apartment (already protected by other laws)
• Live in an owner-occupied building with 10 or fewer units (or 4 units in Albany)
• Live in certain special housing like dorms, senior communities, or employee housing
• Rent an apartment that costs more than a certain monthly amount (called "high rent")