Ask Altagracia: Can my roommate and I challenge a non-renewal notice under Good Cause eviction law?
- You will have to go to housing court to assert your rights under this new state law
- There are many exemptions to Good Cause, so make sure the law applies to your rental
The law is "a pretty substantial change to the power dynamic between landlord and tenant,” said attorney Altagracia Pierre-Outerbridge.
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Good Cause eviction law aims to protect some market-rate tenants by limiting rent increases—to 8.82 percent currently—and preventing evictions and non-renewals unless the landlord has a good reason. In order to exercise your rights under the law, you need to be prepared to go to court.
“It's a pretty substantial change to the power dynamic between landlord and tenant with respect to market-rate apartments,” said Altagracia Pierre-Outerbridge, attorney and founder of Outerbridge Law representing residential tenants, condo owners, and landlords. However, she added, “Ultimately you need to be willing to be sued in order to assert your rights.”
Practical next steps
A good cause notice should be included with the non-renewal you have received. This outlines whether or not your apartment is subject to the law and under what grounds you are being denied the renewal.
“If your landlord hasn't given you that, you don't have to go anywhere, at least for the time being,” Pierre-Outerbridge said. If the landlord files for eviction without providing that written notice, the case would likely be dismissed.
If you stay in the apartment, pay your rent and abide by the lease terms, the landlord will either allow you to stay or bring eviction proceedings against you. If the landlord actively wants you out, you are headed for a fight in eviction court.
“For this, you will need legal advice because you need to know you have good grounds to stay—and this is a complicated law,” Pierre-Outerbridge said.
Beware of exemptions under the law
Some apartments are exempt from Good Cause eviction law, notably small landlords. Landlords who own 10 apartments or fewer are exempt from the law and the good cause notice you should have received, along with the non-renewal notice—should provide a list of the properties they own.
“In calculating the number of units a landlord owns, this also includes any legal entity, like apartments owned under a limited liability company,” Pierre-Outerbridge said.
Altagracia has published a helpful guide answering the question of when a landlord can legally refuse to renew a lease.
Co-ops and condo buildings are also exempt from the law, so if you are renting a co-op or condo unit you do not have protection. “Sometimes you have sponsor units in these types of buildings that are leased and they are also exempt,” Pierre-Outerbridge said. Other exemptions include apartments that fall under rent regulation, where other protections are already in place.
Your lease can be terminated for good cause
Under the law, a good cause for termination of the lease includes a failure to pay rent or any breach of the lease. Illegal use of the apartment, nuisance behavior, and a refusal to allow access for repairs also constitute good cause for eviction.
“If the landlord wants to use the apartment for personal use, they are also allowed to terminate the lease,” Pierre-Outerbridge said.
In addition, sublets are not required to be renewed if the original tenant is coming back. According to Pierre-Outerbridge, sublets fall under the category of "owner use," meaning landlords can terminate them without needing a good cause.
You can also face termination of your lease if you refuse to sign a renewal that’s reasonable, provided the changes were given within the required timeframe. For example, a rent increase of 4 percent would be considered reasonable if challenged in housing court.
“If you disagree with reasonable changes in the renewal notice, you can choose to move out or risk eviction,” Pierre-Outerbridge says.
Altagracia Pierre-Outerbridge, Esq. is the owner of Outerbridge Law P.C, focusing primarily on tenant representation. The firm represents all sides in landlord-tenant litigation and transactional matters such as month-to-month holdovers, nuisance cases, licensee cases, harassment claims, repair cases, tenant buyouts, succession claims, DHCR overcharges and rent reductions and more. Pierre-Outerbridge has 15 years of experience litigating in Supreme, DHCR, and Housing Court. To submit a question for this column, click here. To contact Outerbridge Law P.C. directly, call 212-364-5612 or 877-OUTERBRIDGE, or schedule a meeting today.
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