Landlords in Troy say Good Cause Eviction legislation currently up for debate hurts their business.
The debate over Good Cause Eviction has returned to Troy's City Council following the election of an all-Democrat legislative body in November.
The state law allows upstate communities to opt-in to the legislation that grants tenant protections.
But some landlords in Troy say it would give tenants too much power.
Tony Mawad says being a landlord in New York state is “nearly impossible.” He says increases in state and local taxes make it hard to budget and keep rents stable year-over-year.
“If you have a problem tenant, I don't know how that benefits [them] to keep them there, you're giving all the rights to a bad tenant over the rightful owner and the other tenants,” Mawad said.
Good cause to evict a tenant includes failure to pay rent, lease violations, illegal use of property and more.
The state law does not apply to some tenants who share property with their landlords.
The measure would limit rent increases in the Collar City and would also make it illegal for landlords to retaliate against tenants for speaking up about unfit living conditions.
In Troy, the definition of a “small landlord” would apply to landlords who only own one rental unit. Of the 19 municipalities in New York that have opted into Good Cause — including Albany, Poughkeepsie, and Binghamton — 18 share a similiar definition.
Brian Marsh owns 20 units in Troy. Marsh, who also serves as mayor in the Village of Menands across the Hudson River, still considers himself a small, hands-on property manager.
“I am management,” Marsh said. “I am who they call. I am who shows up. I fix leaks, I unclog toilets. I am there to change and flip circuit breakers when people don't understand how to do it themselves. That's me. I don't have a person on staff that I can call and dispatch within an hour. That's very costly. So, for me to have that I can't do it. It is me. I am the person who earns $30 an hour. That is my profit. That is how I earn a living, providing quality housing to the tenants that you know that reside in my in my units.”
Marsh, who agrees with residents there are bad landlords out there, says a compromise is needed to protect landlords from bad tenants.
“When I go to court, it is because somebody isn't paying. You don't pay, you don't stay period. That should be, that should be the rule. They shouldn't get a two-month court date and then get to the court and say, ‘oh, I'd like an attorney.’ Now it's another two months, “ Marsh said. “That's four months, one third of the year. OK, I don't have any income. How is that fair? They should have to post a bond. They should have to continue to pay their rent into an escrow account so that if they don't win the case, the landlord is compensated. That would be a fair compromise.”
Current rent-regulated apartments or income-restricted units are not covered by the state law.
Tenants who support the measure say it's the “bare minimum” the city can do to protect residents. Mateo, who asked for WAMC to only use his first name for fear of retaliation, says his landlord routinely refuses to do regular maintenance, including fix broken plumbing.
“I do not exist to supplement somebody's income,” Mateo said. “I, too, am not paid enough for the work that I do, but I don't have the money to buy a building somewhere that I don't live and make that some random person's problem. I don't have the money to play with people's lives. Lives, because I feel like I deserve some more money. All I am asking you to do is allow me to take care of my family.”
The City Council is expected to vote on the local law on March 5.
Republican Mayor Carmella Mantello has asked the council to hold off on passing the legislation until a “data-driven review” is done to fully understand the long-term impacts on the city’s economy.
