Dozens of Queens tenants boarded two buses before dawn Tuesday, embarking on an early journey to Albany to advocate for greater tenant protections.

"As this affordability and housing crisis continues, people don't have the safety nets that they need or the programs or help from the government that they need to be able to survive during this crisis," Leslie Ariza, a media associate for Make the Road New York, said.

What You Need To Know

  • Tenant advocates and hundreds of renters across the state are meeting in the capital Tuesday, rallying in support of two legislative bills

  • Good Cause Eviction, advocates say, protects tenants from unreasonable rent hikes and retaliatory or discriminatory evictions

  • The Housing Access Voucher Program would set up a statewide subsidy program for low-income families and individuals who are facing eviction

  • Landlord groups say they supports the subsidy program but say Good Cause Eviction does not create any housing

Tenant advocates and hundreds of renters across the state are convening in the capital on Tuesday, rallying in support of two legislative bills.

One of them is Good Cause Eviction, which advocates say will protect tenants from unreasonable rent hikes and retaliatory or discriminatory evictions. Under the proposed bill, if rent is raised more than 3%, and a tenant is unable to pay the increase, they can cite "Good Cause" as a defense in an eviction case, leaving it up to a judge to determine if the rent hike is justified.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has previously stated that such measures are unnecessary due to the state's existing strong legal protections for tenants. Though, advocates want it enshrined in law.

"We're asking for the Gov. Hochul to not stand in the way of these tenant protections, to put tenants first and to stop cozying up to her billionaire donors," Yatziri Tovar, a spokesperson for the organization, said. 

A study on the policy by the Furman Center at NYU suggests that "Good Cause Eviction" could impact around 700,000 city apartments but could also have unintended negative consequences for tenants.

The report suggests that the policy could provide landlords with a benchmark for annually raising rent prices, potentially discouraging the development of new housing and exacerbating the difficulty for renters to find affordable accommodations.

The second bill that tenants and advocates are championing is the Housing Access Voucher Program, which would establish a statewide subsidy program for low-income families and individuals facing eviction.

Under this program, tenants would contribute 30% of their income toward rent, with the remainder covered by subsidies.

The Community Housing Improvement Program, a small landlord association, supports the subsidy program but says Good Cause Eviction does not create any housing. Other landlord groups have opposed it, saying it takes property rights from owners.

"We want to make sure that our voices are heard. We don't have the real estate money, but we do have power in sharing our stories and sharing that tenants need these protections," Tovar said.

Basha Gerhards, the senior vice president of planning for the Real Estate Board of New York, said the organization is in favor of the voucher program, but that more needs to be done.

"REBNY has long supported the adoption of the Housing Access Voucher Program, and we encourage the legislature to include it in this year's budget. But any voucher program will be rendered useless unless it's paired with comprehensive measures to boost critically needed rental housing production for New Yorkers,” the statement from Gerhards reads.

Some lawmakers stated on Monday that they will negotiate the details of Good Cause Eviction, but many said they will not pass a housing deal without the mesaures, while others said the the incentive needed to be included to develop more housing.

The state legislature is expected to vote on what legislation will be included in the budget’s housing package by April 1.