“Syracuse tenants need Good Cause Eviction law,” co-authored by Associate Professor of Sociology Gretchen Purser, was published on Syracuse.com. Purser and Cornell professor Jamila Michener urge City of Syracuse lawmakers to opt into New York State's Good Cause Eviction law, as many Upstate communities have already done. Following is an excerpt:

Good Cause Eviction is not a panacea. It will not address all the housing woes facing our communities. But so long as it is passed in its strongest version, with a landlord portfolio size of one, it would do two things that that are crucial for the rights and well-being of tenants.

First, it would cap rent increases to approximately 10% each year. Rents have been increasing upwards of 20% in recent years, contributing to record levels of homelessness and Syracuse’s recent title as the nation’s most competitive rental market.

Second, it would protect tenants from retaliatory evictions by restricting evictions to those carried out with “good cause.” Landlords would still be able to evict tenants who are behind on their rent or who have violated the terms of their lease, but this law would give tenants the presumptive right to stay in the property otherwise. It would be a mechanism for both contributing to housing stability and prohibiting landlord retaliation against tenants who play by the rules.