Rochester City Council has voted in favor of a Good Cause Eviction bill.
It's intended to protect tenants from unreasonable rent hikes and retaliatory or discriminatory evictions.
Council President Miguel Melendez says it'll keep lower-income families in their homes.
He says the new law will go into effect in the coming weeks, once Mayor Malik Evans signs it.
Under Good Cause Eviction, which will go into effect in the coming weeks, all property owners in Rochester must provide so-called “good cause” as a prerequisite to eviction. Acceptable reasons for eviction include:
- Non-payment of rent, provided the unpaid rent did not result from a an unreasonable rent increase;
- Violation of a substantial obligation of the lease;
- Nuisance on the property committed or allowed by the tenant;
- Interference with the comfort or safety of the landlord or other occupants;
- Occupancy violates or causes a violation of law;
- Use of the property for an illegal purpose;
- Unreasonably refusing landlord access;
- Recovering possession of the unit for the personal use an principal residence of the landlord;
- Demolition or withdrawal of the unit from the housing market;
- Tenant refusal to agree to reasonable changes or reasonable rent increases.
The legislation also includes carve-outs which create exemptions for the following:
- Units exceeding 245% of the fair market rent for Monroe County;
- Buildings for which a certificate of occupancy was issued on or after January 1, 2009;
- Units already subject to local, state or federal rent regulations;
- Owner-occupied buildings containing fewer than 10 units;
- Manufactured homes located in manufactured home parks;
- Units occupied as an incident to the tenant’s job that is being lawfully terminated;
- Hotel rooms and other transient uses;
- Religious facilities or institutions; seasonal use units; units within hospitals; and dormitories.
Included in the legislation is a provision which requires that tenants be provided with detailed written notice of their rights under Good Cause Eviction at the signing of a lease, renewal of a lease, when increasing the rent and when seeking to evict.