Among the historic tenant protections proposed as part of a sweeping series of rent reforms last year, there was one piece of legislation that got left behind in Albany.

The bill, introduced by state Senator Julia Salazar, would prohibit landlords of nearly every market-rate apartment in New York from evicting tenants without showing “good cause,” and also entitle tenants who are paying their rent and following the rules to a lease renewal. In another major shift, the plan would also give tenants the ability to fight evictions if they are based on an inability to pay “unreasonable” rent increases. Dropped last year for insufficient support, the legislation once viewed as too controversial is now showing a promising sign of support in Albany.

Described as landlords’ worst nightmare, the progressive proposal breaks new ground in expanding rent protections. All told, the rent laws enacted in June affects 2.4 million people who live in the nearly one million rent-stabilized units in the New York City. The good cause eviction bill would apply to those left mostly unprotected by rent reform—roughly 2.5 million market-rate renters in New York City, according to numbers supplied by Housing Justice For All, a tenant group.

Statewide, the group estimates there are 5.5 million people living in unregulated housing.

To date, a majority of Democrats in the state Senate and Assembly have sponsored the bill, leaving Salazar hopeful that the bill can be passed as part of the state budget.

“It demonstrates that there is political appetite and reinforces that there is an increase in public support,” Salazar said, of the bill’s momentum. She added that time to digest the contents of the bill as well as political education efforts by tenant activists have all helped give the legislation a boost. Last week, supporters unveiled a new ad campaign that included Nydia Velazquez, a Democratic congresswoman whose district includes parts of Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan.

State Senator Julia Salazar✔@SalazarSenate

Every day in New York, 100 families are evicted from their homes.

All tenants deserve to live without constant fear of eviction. They deserve protection from huge rent hikes. That’s why we’re fighting to pass Good Cause eviction bill this year.

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11:18 AM – Feb 7, 2020

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The timing seems to be on the bill’s side. While last summer’s overhaul of rent laws saw an unprecedented wave of political support, there are signs that the conversation about the high cost of renting in New York City is far from over. During last week’s state of the city address, Mayor Bill de Blasio made the creation of affordable housing a central goal of his last two remaining years in office, along with a plan for “universal renter protections.”

“Millions of New Yorkers, no protection against rent gouging,” he told the audience. “The landlord can jack up the rent as much as they want for no reason whatsoever. That’s one of the reasons why so many people can’t stay in this town.”

In a more unexpected turn of events, the state last week announced an end to tenant-paid brokers’ fees as part of its interpretation of the new rent laws. (Although on Monday, the Real Estate Board of New York won a temporary restraining order to put a halt to the policy in state Supreme court.)

Elsewhere, Oregon became the first state in the nation to pass rent control last year, which included a limit on rent increases to 7 percent annually plus inflation. California later enacted its version as well. Beginning on January 1st of this year, landlords in that state cannot charge annual rent increases more than 5 percent, plus the local rate of inflation.

In Albany, Salazar last week spearheaded two amendments to the good cause eviction bill that supporters say will make the plan both clearer and more politically viable. The bill had previously defined an illegal eviction as one arising from an tenant’s inability to pay a rent increase of 1.5 times the local rate of inflation. Now, it will also apply to a rent hike that exceeds 3 percent, whichever is greater.

The language describing such rent hikes has also been changed from “unconscionable” to “unreasonable.”

Salazar told Gothamist that the first change was to address situations where the inflation rate is negative. (The U.S. economy, including that of New York City, has been marked by low inflation for more than a decade.) The second revision resulted from legislators who opposed what they said was a harsh overtone of the word “unconscionable,” but which, she pointed out, is also a legal term.

Regardless of the tweaks, real estate interests are expected to vigorously lobby against the bill.

Cea Weaver, a prominent tenant activist, said that compared to last year, the opposition is “more hysterical this year.”

At issue is how the legislation is being framed. Although groundbreaking, Salazar and tenant activists have disputed critics’ characterization of the plan as rent control, arguing that it allows landlords to argue their case in housing court for larger than allowed rent increases for reasons like greater property taxes and maintenance costs.

The proposal’s opponents “never mention that it’s a rebuttal presumption,” Salazar said, using the legal term that means a judge can weigh both sides. Unlike the policies passed in Oregon and California, the legislation does not propose an outright cap on rent increases.

But landlords argue that the outcome is the same.

“It’s the same difference,” responded Jay Martin, the executive director of Community Housing Improvement Program, which represents landlords. “We’re setting up a system that’s going to bog building owners and tenants in housing court.”

The net result, he argued, would be a “chilling effect on owners ability to maintain properties and tenants ability to find good quality housing.”

Although evictions have dropped since the passage of the new rent laws—a sign that the changes are working, according to tenant activists—Martin predicted that they would rise again in the next six months as more landlords assess their rising costs and figure out the law.

Despite the encouraging signs in Albany, activists who led rent reform last year say they are not taking anything for granted.

“We think we have a good shot at getting it through this year,” said Mike McKee, a tenant lobbyist. Nonetheless, he added, “There are no guarantees in politics or legislation.”