Readers Write: Good Cause Eviction is not the answer to Long Island’s housing problem

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Readers Write: Good Cause Eviction is not the answer to Long Island’s housing problem

As someone who owns and rents on Long Island, I am concerned about the direction the state Legislature is taking regarding the “Good Cause Eviction” bill proposed in Albany.

The bill would devastate the small landlords on Long Island who already operate under extremely thin margins and do not have the means to operate with the proposed income limitations.

The proposal for Good Cause Eviction will effectively kill the opportunity for any small landlord to obtain and effectively maintain an investment property. Furthermore, the idea that eviction – or even non-renewal of a lease – would only be in the hands of a court, as opposed to individual landlords, makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

The proposed bill does not resolve a crisis, it creates a new, broader-reaching crisis, that will impact both owner and tenant. This bill does nothing to financially help any tenant, it only seeks to penalize a property owner. If lawmakers want to seriously create legislation that will make an impact on the housing issue, they should focus on expanding the eligibility for rent supplements.

Creating a broader housing voucher system would be the single most impactful legislative change for housing in the state. Only focusing on legislation that will penalize the property owner, will be the equivalent of throwing gasoline on a fire.

Advocates for the bill are viewing this issue as one-sided, when – in fact – the housing issue on Long Island is a prism with many different sides. There is no “one size fits all” answer, no silver bullet.

Addressing housing from multiple angles is the only way to seriously put New York on a path to continue to foster development of quality affordable and market-rate units and create a system in the end that not only protects tenants but protects landlords and property rights as well.

Grant Havasy
Co-Founder & President
Blue & Gold Holdings, LLC

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