The video centers around the introduction of the "Good Cause eviction" bill, which is designed to provide substantial tenant protections in New York. This bill aims to curb skyrocketing rent increases and arbitrary evictions, sparking opposition from the real estate sector. Tenant activists and community members advocate for more awareness and support to ensure the bill's passage, acknowledging the current disparity where landlords hold significant influence due to financial means.

This piece is significant because it highlights the struggle for tenant rights amidst booming real estate interests. It sheds light on the human stories of those at risk of eviction and their fight for housing stability, emphasizing the broader societal issue of housing inequality. The reporter, through exploring different perspectives, illustrates the contentious battle between property owners and tenants needing legislative protection.

Main takeaways from the video:

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Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. watershed [ˈwɔːtərˌʃɛd] - (noun) - A critical turning point or dividing line, especially a momentous event. - Synonyms: (milestone, turning point, landmark)

Well, now there's a watershed new bill which if passed will protect millions of renters in New York from unfairly losing their homes.

2. retaliation [rɪˌtæliˈeɪʃən] - (noun) - The action of returning a military attack or reprisal; counterattack. - Synonyms: (reprisal, retribution, revenge)

Reyna Tellez doesn't even ask her landlord for fixes because she's afraid of similar retaliation.

3. precarious [prɪˈkɛriəs] - (adjective) - Not securely held or in position; dangerously likely to fall or collapse. - Synonyms: (unstable, insecure, uncertain)

What do you tell to half of the renters in New York state, this bill will make their life a little less precarious.

4. lobby [ˈlɑːbi] - (noun) - A group of people seeking to influence legislators on a particular issue. - Synonyms: (pressure group, interest group, advocacy group)

For years, the real estate lobby has spent millions of dollars buying influence in New York State.

5. eviction [ɪˈvɪkʃən] - (noun) - The legal process of expelling a tenant from property. - Synonyms: (ejection, expulsion, displacement)

And New York has some of the highest rents and the most evictions in the country

6. filibuster [ˈfɪləˌbʌstər] - (noun) - An action such as a prolonged speech that obstructs progress in a legislative assembly. - Synonyms: (obstruction, delaying tactics, stonewalling)

It's a filibuster. filibuster. Take a breath.

7. legislator [ˈlɛdʒɪsleɪtər] - (noun) - A person who makes or enacts laws. - Synonyms: (lawmaker, parliamentarian, congressman)

The way I see it is the only people they really need to make their case to are the elected officials they donate large sums of money to.

8. advocate [ˈædvəkət] - (noun) - A person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy. - Synonyms: (supporter, proponent, champion)

So I toured the state talking to renters, tenant advocates, and also I tried talking to the real estate industry.

9. regulation [ˌrɛɡjəˈleɪʃən] - (noun) - A rule or directive made and maintained by an authority. - Synonyms: (rule, directive, law)

They got rid of rent regulation in Cambridge in the 90s

10. predatory [ˈprɛdəˌtɔri] - (adjective) - Engaging in exploitation primarily to maximize profit. - Synonyms: (exploitative, rapacious, avaricious)

And again, it caps rent increases and halts predatory eviction.

How the Landlord’s Worst Nightmare Could Protect Millions of New Yorkers - NYT Opinion

I'm just a bill. I'm a tenant's rights bill and I'm here on New York's Capitol Hill. In the last 50 years, the increase in American rents has far outpaced the income of American renters. And New York has some of the highest rents and the most evictions in the country.

Well, these New Yorkers don't know me, but they sure would love me. All the landlords hate me cause they're a victim for money. For years, the real estate lobby has spent millions of dollars buying influence in New York State. Well, now there's a watershed new bill which if passed will protect millions of renters in New York from unfairly losing their homes. How? By limiting rent increases and extending basic protections to tenants all across the state.

This game changing bill is called Good Cause eviction. They passed my pals in Oregon and ca, Washington and nj. I'm still in New York. I am still just a bill. Only problem is most tenants don't know about me. And the landlords, well, they hate me.

By the way, I'm Jeff Seale, I'm a video journalist and comedian and I cover housing in New York. I previously made a series about chasing down New York's worst landlords. Call the police officers. Okay. Call the police. They're calling the police. Jig is up. Now I wanted to fully understand the stakes of good cause eviction. A massively important yet little known bill. So I toured the state talking to renters, tenant advocates, and also I tried talking to the real estate industry.

There's gonna be two things. The first is you give me the name and email of the person that talked to. Okay, you tell me the second thing. Just out of curiosity. The second thing is you'll leave to find out why. Okay, Second thing is I'll leave. Okay. It's been called the landlord's worst nightmare.

We thought we'd raise Rosie here in this house and she'd go to the school across the street. But you know, that's not what's happening anymore. This is Stacy and Ryan and they're being evicted from their home. But like many renters in New York state, it's not because they didn't pay their rent or because they're bad tenants. Ryan's been here for 16 years. I moved in five years ago. We just had a baby. They gave us six, 60 days to move out. I think they just want us out so that they can sell it. It's easier to sell an empty building so a new owner can gut, renovate and fill the building with new higher paying tenants. So their landlord evicted everyone else in their building as well.

Well, I think starting with like, people were coming to us with such sad stories, you know, people who had lived in their buildings for a really long time. And we had to tell them, there's nothing I can do for you. This is Judith Goldner, a lawyer at legal aid. She helped draft good cause eviction. What we're unhappy about is landlords across the state who are able to evict tenants for basically no reason. Under good cause eviction, as long as you're paying your rent and are an otherwise good tenant, a landlord can't evict you. So they can't clear out an entire building just to maximize their profits on a sale.

Even my neighbors, when they heard that I would be leaving, everybody was just so sad. When Tammy Davis discovered she had been paying half of her neighbor's electricity bill in addition to her own for eight years and simply asked her landlord to fix this unfair situation, she was instead served with an eviction notice. And I've been here approximately about 12 and a half years now. Reyna Tellez doesn't even ask her landlord for fixes because she's afraid of similar retaliation.

Under good cause eviction, as long as you're a good tenant, you're guaranteed a lease renewal. So you're protected against retaliation if you ask for repairs or form tenant associations. My rent was increased by almost $400 with only 30 days notice. I can't afford that with the income that I have right now. And so actually I'm being evicted.

Another protection in the bill. Rent increases are tied to inflation, so your landlord can't force you out of your home by just jacking up the rent. And to be fair, a landlord can still evict a tenant for a good reason. The tenants breached their lease, causing a nuisance that hasn't paid paid their rent. Or the landlord wants to take over an apartment for themselves or for their family members. That's why it's called good cause eviction.

Exactly. Then you find an elected representative who would want to sponsor this bill. Right. You're really looking for a champion in that case, because it's not that easy to get any bill passed, let alone a bill that real estate is really very firmly against. And for you all, that was Julia Salazar. Yes.

Hey, Bill. Hey, Julia. Nice. This is Julia Salazar, a state senator and the bill's lead sponsor. No, but seriously, why is the landlord lobby so dead set against it? There are some property owners who do not believe that it is their responsibility as the owner of a residential building to provide housing or quality housing for the people who live there.

How many New Yorkers would you say even know about this bill? But not enough. Not enough. I would say basically, you need as many New Yorkers as possible to know about it. Yeah. Could we help with that? We've got a bunch of ideas. Absolutely. Okay, we're on it. Showtime. It's showtime.

Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together if you've ever heard of good Cause eviction. Anyone? Anybody? Good Cause eviction? Raise your hand if you've heard of it. Nobody? All right. Okay, that's four. Four words. Four words. Four words. First syllable tv. No. Tb. No.

Pending legislation in Albany. This bill applies to all market rate units except for owner occupied buildings with less than four units. It's known as good cause eviction. You guys heard about this one? The tenants movement calls it universal rent control. There's another preta manger landlords call it universal rent control. You kidding me? Sorry.

Market rate units account for an estimated 4 million renters, all of whom would be covered by good cause. Good cause. Good Cause eviction. And again, it caps rent increases and halts predatory eviction.

Yes. Yes. It's really not that radical of a bill. I don't think it's that radical, but I really wanted to hear from the real estate lobbyists who feel otherwise, but they didn't want to hear from me. So when they stopped responding to my emails, I gave them one final chance to share their perspective by showing up at their offices. Basically, I've been emailing and just trying to get an interview.

The way I see it is the only people they really need to make their case to are the elected officials they donate large sums of money to. Not sure what else we're going to talk about right now. Just.

Well, the bill we could talk about. Good Cause eviction bill. It's just a bill. However, I was able to talk to Sherwin Belkin, a prominent lawyer who's worked with the real estate lobbies. I tried to get an interview with. I was ready to sit down and have a very constructive debate.

Let me just make one. Nope. Okay, maybe not. What's. I have the bill. I have the bill right now. Believe me, I've read the bill back. I'm big baby. But it's a filibuster. filibuster. Take a breath.

This is a good debate. We're doing it right with both sides. Both sides. We should be good. All right. Hate you. What's that? I hate you. You hate me.

Amazing. We got that on camera. That's awesome. What are your thoughts on good cause eviction? Good cause eviction is like naming the act, you know, happy babies and sweet puppies act. At the end of the day, it's deceptive and intentionally so. It's universal rent control.

Is it universal rent control? No, it's not. Protracted protected occupancy coupled with limitations on rents, that's what this is. They got rid of rent regulation in Cambridge in the 90s. It's way too expensive to live there. We lost 300,000 rent regulated apartments in New York. Since the 90s, rents have gone up.

Do you think if we got rid of the remaining 1 million rent stabilized units, rents would magically go down? I don't know. You don't know? I don't know. In 2019, owners of rent regulated properties lost almost every available vehicle of making profit on multifamily housing. The result is that deregulated apartments really support the regulated apartments.

New Jersey, they've had a form of good cause eviction for 30 years. Are landlords in New Jersey not able to maintain their buildings? I don't think landlords in New Jersey have the same expenses. How is it different? The real estate taxes, the water charges, the insurance costs are nowhere the same in New Jersey as they are in New York.

Property taxes are very high in New Jersey. Has it been devastating to the real estate industry? I'm a New York centric practitioner. I really can't comment on New Jersey.

How about this scenario? Let's hear it. You own a vacation rental. You lost me at that. We're talking about people who are trying to get by, but not people who are like, I gotta give up my second home landlord specifically decided to go into the business of housing people. The landlord is paying their mortgage, the landlord is building equity. All we're saying is as long as I pay my rent, you can't kick me out of my home. And as long as I'm paying my rent every month, which is sometimes 50% of our paycheck, you can't raise the rent more than inflation.

That's very reasonable. I mean, what do you tell to half of the renters in New York state, this bill will make their life a little less precarious. I say that this is a capitalist society. Yeah. I say that there is a US Constitution. I say that we have private property rights. I say no one held a gun to your head to sign a lease for a rent that was more than you can pay. You Made that free decision.

I don't think we're gonna agree to. No, I don't think we are. We're not gonna agree with you. Definitely not gonna agree. We probably will agree to disagree. That I'll agree on. Okay. Clearly neither of us changed our minds about good cause.

Good cause. Good cause of bitch buzz. Pretty excited to show Julia everything we had done. Call you a rat. That's you. So I imagine a lot of people have been calling. No, not quite.

I think what we should probably do is public outreach. It's canvassing, it's phone banking, even knocking on people's doors, hosting public events, rallies. It's talking to as many tenants as we can. Are you ready? Very simple. All the rent. All the rent. All the rent.

Do you agree that the rent is too damn high? Yes or no? No. The rent is too damn high.

To date, Governor Kathy Hochul hasn't taken a stand on good cause eviction. If you want this bill passed, call her office and tell her and call your state reps as well and demand they support this necessary bill. These state reps haven't signed onto the bill, even though their districts are filled with renters who need good cause eviction. You can go to this website to find your state assembly member and this one to find your state senator. In fact, you can do it now if you want.

I'll wait. And we're back.

The real estate lobby in New York has bought its way into the halls of power. While most tenants don't have the same money or access, what they do have is numbers. And they can create their own power by getting organized in their own building, in their own neighborhood, and in their own city. And as the saying goes, if you can pass legislation here, you can pass it anywhere. When I say good, you say cause. Good. Good. Good. Thank you, everyone. Let's.

New York, Housing, Tenant Rights, Politics, Economics, Inspiration, The New York Times