Court finds Albany’s Good Cause Eviction Law to be invalid

The Good Cause Eviction law of the City of Albany (Local Law F of 2021) was in direct conflict with and preempted by New York State law, as ruled by the Supreme Court of Albany County. The plaintiffs argued that the law was attempting to regulate rental rates and tenant evictions at the local level, which was not allowed by State law. The court found that Local Law F was in direct conflict with New York State's Real Property Law (RPL) and Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL). The court emphasized that the RPAPL did not require a landlord to show "good cause" to evict a tenant after a lease had expired. The court also stated that Local Law F added "good cause" requirements that did not exist under New York State law and restricted a landlord's right to evict a tenant even when there was no written lease. The court also found that the law was in direct conflict with RPL Section 228, which permitted a landlord to end a month-to-month tenancy on 30 days' notice to the tenant without demonstrating good cause. Finally, the court mentioned that Section 226-c allowed a landlord to raise rents by 5 percent or more provided that the tenant was given adequate written notice at the time of renewal for those with written leases and upon sufficient notice for those under month-to-month tenancies.

The court ultimately held that since Sections 30-327 and 30-328 of Local Law F “altered substantive provisions and procedures of existing state law by imposing limitations and prerequisites to the commencement of an eviction proceeding that are not required under state law,” they were deemed null and void. The court further held that since the remaining provisions of Local Law F were enacted solely to support Sections 30-327 and 30-328, the

entire law was held to be invalid.