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The Syracuse Tenants Union, Housing Justice for All and Citizen Action of New York are lobbying the Syracuse Common Council to adopt the Good Cause Eviction policy, which requires landlords to provide valid reasoning to tenants for rent increases and evictions.

To support this effort, the group has launched a petition aiming to gather 400 signatures advocating for housing security in the city. The policy would mandate landlords to provide valid reasons for rent increases and tenant evictions.

The council hasn’t voted on the policy, despite a 22% rent increase in Syracuse over the past year, according to a March 2024 report from the New York Times. The Syracuse Housing Study, conducted by Mayor Ben Walsh, found that many of the city’s other challenges — including lead in drinking water and widespread poverty — stem from its lack of affordable, quality housing options in the city.

“The quality of the housing stock is a concern. We need investment into the properties to fix them up,” Jocelyn Richards, a member and organizer of STU, said. “The city and the Common Council, they focus exclusively on that.”

GCE has been on the council’s agenda since September 2024, but has been delayed due to pushback from landlords, who believe that it could make removing problematic renters more difficult. In December, the STU hosted a film screening to voice frustrations over the delay in passing the law.

Richards said the organization has actively engaged with local neighborhoods, going door to door to discuss the union’s proposed implementation of the policy. She added that responses have been overwhelmingly positive responses, as residents value neighborhood stability over the constant turnover of newcomers.

“It’s frustrating. There seems to be a lack of urgency (from the council), which we’ve honestly interpreted to be because they must not view themselves as representing the people,” Richards said.

Alex Lawson, Housing Policy Manager at CNY Fair Housing, said GCE is fundamental to building fair housing regulations in the city. People are often evicted for asserting fair house rights, which happens frequently, he said.

Lawson added that evictions disproportionately affect minorities, highlighting people of color and individuals with limited English language proficiency as common victims of the crisis.

“Good Cause Eviction will give the tenants the stability that we currently associate with homeownership,” Lawson said. “You can’t just be thrown out.”

The housing crisis is just one part of a broader series of overlapping crises, Lawson said, also emphasizing addiction. Onondaga County reports a higher rate of opioid overdoses than New York state overall, with 50.4 per 100,000 residents compared to the state’s 40.6.

In addition to urging the council to pass the policy, the petition also calls for the adoption of STU’s Rental Registry Proposal. The proposal aims to help end lead poisoning in homes, hold slumlords accountable to needed repairs and fund relocation programs for tenants who were evicted from “unfit properties,” which includes structural damage and safety hazards.

Richards said the proposals are comparable to the American legal standard: “innocent until proven guilty.” GCE simply requires landlords to provide a valid reason for eviction, shifting the burden of proof to the landlord, she said.

“To me, the housing and the tenants are cycling down a drain to become homeless, discarded,” Richards said. “Good Cause is like a plug, to keep everyone here housed, and then be able to simultaneously rebuild.”

Published on January 22, 2025 at 11:10 pm

Contact Madeline: mmgoodhe@syr.edu