After Thursday night’s meeting, Troy is moving toward adopting a ‘Good Cause’ Eviction law.
Later this month, Troy's City Council will hold a public hearing on its proposed Good Cause Eviction legislation.
Council President Sue Steele said she expects to hear much of the same ideas at that hearing – set for Feb. 19 – as council members heard Thursday night.
“The council is supportive of their efforts,” Steele said “So, the public hearing is just one step in the process, but there will be passage.”
The measure would limit rent increases to the Consumer Price Index plus 5 percent or 10 percent each year. It would also make it illegal for landlords to retaliate against tenants for speaking up about unfit living conditions. Examples of good cause to evict a tenant include not paying rent, illegal use of property, and malicious damage.
Troy considered passing similar measures last summer, but the council's former Republican majority ultimately voted the effort down, arguing such laws negatively impact landlords and hurt economic growth.
A resident of almost 10 years, Keegan Quick-Jenkins said during Thursday’s meeting that protections are necessary to keep those living paycheck to paycheck from being homeless and to ensure they are living in safe quarters.
“I love living here,” Quick-Jenkins said. “I want to stay here, but like also, I need to afford to live here, and I want to feel safe, and I want my I want my children to grow up somewhere safe, and I think that's why we're all here.”
Residents spent more than an hour sharing comments on the proposed legislation. While nearly two dozen residents spoke in favor, only one person spoke against it – a landlord and businessowner from Cohoes. Joe Johnson, the CEO of Johnson Electrical LLC says the legislation is just a partial solution. And, he says, it would place undue burden on people who rent out properties, who have their own costs of living to contend with.
“I make a couple-hundred dollars on a door if I do real good and everybody wants to pay their rent. And if there's not these problems, like most people seem to have here, what kind of money are we really talking about,” Johnson asked. “So as a landlord, you know, I understand the frustrations, because there's a lot of out-of-town landlords, and there's a lot of bad actors out there, and there's, there are some bad tenants too.”
Troy’s law would apply to all non-rent-regulated units except those that have a “monthly rent greater than 345% of the fair market rent.”
The 2026 fair market rate for a one-bedroom apartment in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area is $1,417, according to United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
State legislation passed in 2024 required New York City to adopt good cause measures. But around the rest of the state, municipalities can opt in by passing a local law, as cities like Albany, Kingston, Hudson and New Paltz have done.
Mayor Carmella Mantello is expected to veto the plan after the all-Democrat council takes action. Mantello adds the proposed law would hurt the local housing market and landlords. The Republican says the city needs a balanced solution that “preserves housing stability, encourages investment, and supports responsible property owners.”
Mantello says residents can contact the city’s code enforcement hotline anonymously if they have problems with their unit.
