Middletown holds public hearing on 'good cause' eviction law as residents, landlords clash

The Middletown Common Council opened a public hearing Tuesday on proposed local implementation of New York State's good cause eviction law, drawing more than a dozen speakers representing tenants, tenant advocates, landlords and housing-service providers.

Councilman Paul Johnson, chair of the council's Legislative Committee, opened the hearing and framed the ordinance as an attempt to balance tenant stability and landlord rights. "This is not rent control," Johnson said, describing the measure as protection against "arbitrary evictions" while preserving landlords' ability to evict for nonpayment or other lawful causes.

Supporters — including longtime educator John Perino, tenant organizers from For the Many and attorneys from tenant-rights groups — told the council the ordinance is needed to prevent sudden, large rent increases and retaliatory evictions that destabilize families and students. Vanessa Sid, who identified herself as a Second Ward resident and organizer with For the Many, urged the council to set the portfolio-size exemption at one unit so small landlords living in a single-rental property are still covered. "If folks pay their rent, abide by the law, and their lease agreement, they should not have to face the threat of eviction or predatory rent increase," Sid said.

Tenant advocates and legal aid representatives cited local examples. Ben Surface, supervising attorney with the Hudson Valley Justice Center, described a case in Middletown in which a landlord sought to remove a tenant who received a housing subsidy despite rent being paid on time. Surface warned that common ownership structures using LLCs can make it difficult for tenants to show whether a landlord qualifies for any portfolio-size exemption during the fast-moving summary eviction process.

Advocates asked the council to adopt a high-rent exemption tied to a multiple of Fair Market Rent (some witnesses urged 345% of FMR) and to keep the portfolio exemption low (one-unit), so the law covers the broadest set of tenants and cannot be easily circumvented by corporate landlords using separate LLCs for properties.

Homeowners and local landlords opposed elements of the proposed ordinance, saying it would limit their ability to recoup rising maintenance, insurance and capital costs. Several landlords described long, costly eviction proceedings driven primarily by nonpayment of rent. One landlord said he had seen a 58% rent increase on his own unit in the past few years and warned that limits on rent growth could discourage investment and maintenance of rental housing.

Speakers on both sides said they wanted to avoid unintended consequences. Naomi Dan, chief of staff at Housing Justice for All, said the state law already contains exemptions (for example, owner-occupied buildings under certain sizes and recently built units) and urged Middletown to use the local flexibility to close loopholes that would make the law ineffective.

Council members asked clarifying questions during the hearing and acknowledged tradeoffs. Alderman Ray noted the law does not remove landlords' ability to evict for nonpayment, nuisance, or other enumerated good causes. Councilman Johnson said the council had heard extensive public comment and expected at least one or two more committee meetings before any formal ordinance vote; he kept the hearing record open for written comments for two weeks.

The public hearing record will remain open, and no council vote was held on the ordinance at this meeting.