Council debates opting into New York State 'good‑cause' eviction law; committee motion not seconded

Councilman Hotchkiss introduced RL24‑250, a draft local law to adopt New York State's Good Cause Eviction provisions under Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law §6‑a. He said the law aims to limit unreasonable rent increases, protect lease renewal rights and guard against retaliatory evictions for tenants who report habitability problems.

Corporation counsel clarified a procedural point: because the state statute requires a municipal opt‑in, the city must adopt the measure as a local law rather than an ordinance and allow the 7‑day home‑rule period and any required public hearing timeline. Hotchkiss summarized key choices council must make: how to define a "small landlord" (by number of units) and where to set the luxury‑exemption threshold (the state allows up to 345 percent of fair‑market rent). He recommended defaulting to a single‑unit definition for the small‑landlord number and a 345 percent luxury exemption to limit the statute’s reach for high‑rent units.

Council questions focused on drafting and process rather than policy specifics. Council members asked whether the city should paste the state text into local code to improve transparency and whether other municipalities’ enacted versions could be used as templates. Corporation counsel advised placing the exact enforcement text in the proposed local law so voters and counsel see the change clearly.

A motion to send the draft to the planning committee was made, but it was not seconded; the motion was recorded as "motioned but not seconded," and no further procedural step was taken at the work session. Council members indicated they might review redrafts and return the measure for committee or a future business meeting.

Provenance: RL24‑250 introduced and debated at the work session; no vote to adopt or send to committee was carried.