Press Release
Good Cause Won’t Hurt Housing Supply in New York, New Report Finds
Pratt/CSS report examines data from New Jersey and New York to show that expanding tenant protections has not reduced pace of ne
NEW YORK – A new report released today finds that “Good Cause” legislation to protect tenants from eviction would not depress housing supply in New York, as the debate over the legislation heats up in Albany.
The report from and Pratt Center for Community Development and the Community Service Society of New York examines leading arguments against the bill, primarily that it would hurt new apartment construction in New York, and finds that in states and cities that have passed similar Good Cause-type protections, the pace of building has not slowed.
“Strengthening tenant protections and improving the housing stock are not mutually exclusive,” said report co-author Samuel Stein, a housing policy analyst at the Community Service Society. “In fact, the two are mutually reinforcing, and we’ve got the data to prove it.”
The report focuses on New Jersey, which passed a Good Cause law in 1974, finding that:
- New Jersey has outpaced New York State in new housing construction over the nearly 50 years with Good Cause in place, a trend that’s only accelerated in the last 12 years.
- Cities just across the river from Manhattan such as Jersey City, which has strong rent control regulations in addition to the State’s Good Cause law, have some of the fastest rates of housing production in the country, and New Jersey suburbs have added housing at three times the rate of New York suburbs.
- New construction in New Jersey hasn’t shifted from rentals to condominiums as a result of Good Cause. In fact, the proportion of rental and homeowner housing is essentially the same today as it was in the year when New Jersey’s Good Cause bill was passed.
The report also looks at cities around the globe with Good Cause-type laws like Tokyo, Montreal, and Zurich, finding that high rates of new housing construction have continued even after the laws were passed. After the passage of rent controls in New York City in 1920 - which applied to new construction - the city also experienced its biggest building boom.
In addition to new construction, the report also argues that Good Cause provisions giving tenants more power to challenge outrageous rent increases wouldn’t harm investment into existing housing stock, showing that rent control in New Jersey municipalities hasn’t impacted housing quality.
Finally, the report notes that exempting new development from Good Cause protections would hurt tenants across New York, showing that rents in new construction are not targeted only to higher-than-average incomes.
“The data is clear: Good Cause protections wouldn’t make building housing unworkable, as some have claimed. In fact, the New York bill defines reasonable rent increases the same way traditional housing lenders do,” said co-author Sylvia Morse, Policy Program Manager at Pratt Center for Community Development. “There is no reason for renters in newer buildings to be excluded from basic tenants’ rights, as the past 50 years in New Jersey show.”
The findings carry particular weight as negotiations over Good Cause heat up. New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board voted last week to potentially permit rent increases as high as 6% for rent-stabilized apartments. Rents in New York City are already up more than 30 percent from 2021 and evictions are surging back to pre-pandemic levels, to the point that there are no lawyers left to represent New Yorkers who are being kicked out of their homes.
Last month, hundreds of tenants held a rally in Albany urging state lawmakers to support Good Cause legislation, just days after tenants marched on New York’s biggest real estate lobby groups, calling them out for spending millions to defeat the legislation.
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The Community Service Society of New York (CSS) has worked with and for New Yorkers since 1843 to promote economic opportunity and champion an equitable city and state. We power change through a strategic combination of research, services, and advocacy to make New York more livable for people facing economic insecurity. By expanding access to health care, affordable housing, employment, opportunities for individuals with conviction histories, debt assistance, and more, we make a tangible difference in the lives of millions.
For nearly 60 years, the Pratt Center for Community Development has worked for a more just, equitable, and sustainable city for all New Yorkers. We combine participatory planning, community organizing, and public policy research and advocacy to support community-based organizations in their efforts to challenge systemic inequities and advance sustainable development.