Troy City Council Approves Good Cause Eviction Legislation
TROY, N.Y. — The Troy City Council has taken a significant step forward in its efforts to implement Good Cause Eviction legislation. On Thursday, the council voted unanimously to approve the measure with a 7-0 decision. However, the mayor has indicated her intention to veto the legislation, which will give her 10 business days to take action.
Council President Sue Steele expressed her satisfaction with the vote and emphasized that the council’s supermajority is likely to override any potential veto at the next regular meeting. “Either way, it’s going to happen,” Steele said. “It’s going to happen in Troy. Troy will become a Good Cause community.”
The legislation aims to provide greater protection for tenants by requiring landlords to have “good cause” for evicting renters. This includes specific, legally defined reasons such as failure to pay rent, illegal activity or occupancy, nuisance behavior, and violating lease terms. There are also exceptions, including small landlords, apartments with high rent or income restrictions, and buildings constructed after 2008.
Mayor Carmella Mantello has voiced concerns about the potential impact of the legislation on the housing market. She argues that the law could slow down construction, reduce available housing units, and increase costs for both landlords and tenants. Mantello has called for more questions to be addressed regarding how the legislation would affect new construction, small landlords, affordable housing projects, and long-term rent increases.
“I will not support a policy that may feel good in the short term but harms working families in the long term,” Mantello said. “Protecting tenants and encouraging development are not mutually exclusive goals. We can do both, and we should do both.”
The push for adopting the Good Cause legislation has been a point of contention in the city. Last year, several community groups advocated for the measure, but the former council with a Republican majority voted it down (4-3) due to concerns over increased costs for landlords and tenants, as well as the potential for protecting bad tenants while harming good ones.
Resident Frankie Reynolds pushed back against the mayor’s call for a pause on the legislation. “Research shows that Good Cause laws create housing stability,” Reynolds said. “They prevent arbitrary or retaliatory evictions and empower tenants to report unsafe or unhealthy living conditions without fear of losing their home.”
The legislation sets the maximum permissible annual rent increase at either ten percent or five percent plus the Consumer Price Index — whichever is lower. It also includes provisions for addressing issues related to housing affordability and tenant rights.
Council member Greg Campbell-Cohen, who spearheaded the legislation, expressed his gratitude for the supporters who remained committed to getting the measure passed. “There are years when you get things over the finish line, and there are other years when you just get to keep the torch alive,” he said. “I’m grateful to all of you for white-knuckling it through the latter so you can get to the former with us here today.”
Resident Frances Sweet shared her personal experience with the legislation. “Good Cause has been a way for me to get involved in local government,” she said. “It was the first time I’d gone to a City Council meeting, and now I show up every month. It changed a lot for me and opened my eyes to a lot of stuff that was going on in the city.”
